VOA: Group Offers Shortwave Radios to Poor Communities

http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Group-Offers-Shortwave-Radios-to-Poor-Communities--116112444.html


The radio is small, about the size of a book, and self-powered. Users turn a crank. Winding it for two minutes provides about forty minutes of listening time.

Ears to Our World is supported by private donations and partners including Eton, the company that makes the Eton Grundig radios.

Thomas Witherspoon started Ears to Our World in two thousand eight.

THOMAS WITHERSPOON: “Our radios are going to people who have no other source of international news and information. It’s hard for them to learn new languages and be connected to the bigger world.

"In fact, in a lot of these communities, the feedback we get is before they had their radio, most of their news and information came word of mouth, from other people. So this way they’re getting more accurate information. And teachers use this information in the classroom to enhance a student’s learning ability about the world around them.”