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Joltye Vodee, Ukraine
New radio station in Ukraine opens, signals hope


In April, Family Life Network of Winnipeg opened a new radio station in the town of Joltye Vodee, Ukraine. Formerly a bustling mining town with 35 mines, it now has only three operational mines. The majority of the 60,000 residents are laid-off workers who receive a meagre compensation of $3 per month. The new radio station signals hope in more ways than one.

In a neglected building being converted into a church, Nikolai Chernomor, an FLN technician, rebuilt rooms for an office and radio studio, working without heat through the winter. In April, FLN director Delbert Enns and board member Stan Pauls visited the station, providing computers and recording equipment for the new studio.

Enns states, “The building, like so many others in Ukraine, was crumbling. I walked in and thought what are we doing here? The room made into a studio and office is like a diamond in the dust.”

For the past three years, the Ukrainian producers frequently travelled 24 hours to the FLN Moscow studio to professionally produce the program they recorded at home on cassettes.

“I’m amazed at how these people in Ukraine were trying to do the programs on their own,” Pauls reports. “With a couple of tape recorders, stopping the tape with their fingers and splicing – the love for the work was there long before we bought them this new equipment. They’re taking these donations very seriously.”

“Timing for the new studio was perfect,” adds Enns. “In March, the Ukrainian government announced a ban on the use of the Russian language on radio, in schools and in printed materials. There’s a need for radio content in the Ukrainian language.”

Chernomor’s wife, Natasha, produces the program, “Families in the Bible”, aired live, daily, on a secular Joltye Vodee station.

Alex Morozov, pastor in the neighbouring town of Krivoy Rog, produces “The Bible Today” program. His programs, like Chernomor’s, are valued for their creative content, and air on 13 other stations throughout Ukraine.

“When we toured the city, I thought if this were my town, where would I start?” says Pauls. “I was impressed by our producers – godly people who reflect happiness.”

“I’m amazed,” adds Enns, “that God is allowing us to partner with these people. In the midst of tough living conditions, they are highly creative and so committed.”

Family Life Network is a ministry of the Mennonite Brethren Church.

 – Dorothy Siebert, Family Life Network

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Last modified July 20, 2007.

© 2007 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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