​Radio Meraj 

Dr. Sakena Yacoobi  has been working with Afghans for decades and believes in the goal of self-sufficiency for Afghan individuals,communities and institutions. She has developed a program building private enterprises in Afghanistan that develop and improve the education and health systems in the country.  Dr. Yacoobi has established:

four private schools
private radio station
private hospital

The schools and hospital have now become self-sufficient. The hospital is an independent entity.  Radio Meraj,  started in 2015, is  one of the top 2 radio stations in Herat. It has begun attracting  advertising as it moves towards self-sufficiency. ​ ​
Private Station Radio Meraj

Dr. Yacoobi had wanted to start a private radio station for some time in order to reach  hundreds of thousands more with messages about health and education. This dream is a reality as Radio Meraj is broadcasting 18 hours a day to 8 out of 15 districts of Herat Province reaching 65% of the land area of Herat, which is home to nearly 2 million people.  Meraj means "reaching for the highest good." Many people who live in remote locations and have no opportunity to get to a workshop or seminar on important issues of health, education, citizenship and human rights now can hear this information on the radio.
​"Education is the first step for development and media is the best tool for carrying out education goals," said a senior advisor to AIL. 

The station has been in operation since May 2015 and has become one of the most popular stations in Herat, winning a nation media award in 2016. The station has programming of benefit to the community including, health, education, human rights and social values together with music and news. Listenership has increased each year.

In May 2017, Meraj won the top awards in the 3 categories it entered at the Zonal Best Media event (Afghanistan Institute for Research and Studies) competing against 161 media outlets. The Afghanistan Institute for Research and Studies held a contest for 161 media outlets. Meraj was permitted to enter 3 categories and won all 3!  They were best news package, best analysis and speakers and best innovative programming. In addition, a photographer working with AIL won the best photography prize for one of his AIL photographs.  The competition attracted media outlets from all over the western zone including the well- known stations that have been operating for decades. Meraj’s success was remarkable in that it has been in operation for only two years yet won awards usually associated with stations of 5 plus years of experience. It won the most awards among all the media.
Radio Meraj is many years ahead of its strategic plan and has gained popular and professional credibility and success making it one of the top two Herat stations.   

Radio Meraj was awarded 3 prizes at the recent Herat Media Awards Festival  2018. The event was open to all vocal, pictorial and print media. Meraj received the prizes for: Best News Announcer: Meraj has professional on-air staff who are both genial and serious in their presentation, which adds to the trust level and engagement that audiences have with the station.  Best News Service: this was from a pool of 21 active radio stations and was for accurate reporting, developing news and best style of news broadcast. Best Report: this was won by one of Meraj’s female reporters. She was encouraged by management to develop her journalist skills and presentation. 
All the staff are proud that Meraj is one of the top stations both in Herat and regionally after only 3 years of operation.  A staff person said, “A major goal of our programs is to enlighten minds and opinions of Meraj Radio listeners. We work to help women to take a more active role in society and also to look after their families better through planning and management.   For youth and children we have programs that aim to discourage negative behaviors, to make youths interested in studying and taking an active role in the country’s development.” 

Radio Meraj reporter, Qudratullah Hamidi  received the  award for Photojournalist 2018 from Free Media Support Institute of Afghanistan (NAI)!
In 2019, the station was again honored with awards for its excellence in broadcasting.  Radio Meraj staff received awards for best news package, best news announcer, top photographer at the Selahuddin Saljoqi Media Awards 2019 Herat.   
 
The  radio station is housed on the top floor of the Afghan Institute of Learning's Herat office building and receives some support  from AIL in the area of programming but  remains a separate private entity and is working towards self-sufficiency.

MORE INFORMATION

Dr. Yacoobi's Afghan Institute of Learning

The  Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) has always sought to charge some sort of fee for its services so as not to perpetuate an attitude of entitlement and to encourage self-reliance in people. In some instances, fee charging has not been possible because of government regulations.  AIL’s approach to its project startups includes the requirement that communities contribute something - not necessarily money - but land or supplies or a building.  Again this approach seeks to engage the people and create  a sense of ownership and responsibility which means projects are valued and nurtured and protected – a recipe for success and longevity.

​Link to Afghan Institute of Learning page
Link to Afghan Institute of Learning website
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Links for Afghan Private Enterprises
High Schools Facebook
Radio Meraj Facebook