Bengaluru: When Uttarakhand was devastated by floods, people in remote villages of Rudraprayag were kept informed about the situation thanks to the radio, and many found hope listening to their neighbours speak on it.
Ms Saritha Thomas, the brain behind the concept, has changed the way people in isolated villages learn and entertain through community radio. Founder of the People's Power Collective, which has given wings to Mandakini Ki Awaz, a Himalayan community radio, she gave up a plush job in London, to answer her new calling in the mountains.
For 22 months she lived with her team in isolated villages of Uttarakhand, training hundreds of villagers in running their own community radio.
Ask her what inspires her and she says, “I have discovered myself in these mountains. I like the challenges life throws at you here and finding your own strength is the key.”
