Ujima Radio Part 2

Good afternoon. Thank you so much for uh sparing some time for me. Uh, could you just start off stating the name of your community interest company and what you provide to the community? Alright. Um, the company is called Ujima Raiders's pronounced Ujima, although it's spelled U J I M A.

Ujima CIC started 17 years ago, and they have a licence which I think is is specific because Ujima provides a service that reached out to communities that were often described as in and out to reach, so the licence was unique in that way. And the mission was to provide a platform for African Caribbean people to get into media and to be able to move on to other media streams. In 2022, the mission was revised, so now the mission is slightly different.

So we're using language that we never did before. So now we talk about. Um, empowerment, entertainment, education, and informing people about African heritage communities which can be many different communities, primarily but not exclusively so that's what we're doing we're saying to people this community exists.

And as Ujima Radio, we want to make sure that the whole world can connect to this community and we will tell you what people are doing, how to get to them, and all of that. So that's what Ujima CIC is. Oh, that's fantastic.

So you applied for the Community resilience fund. Yes, you were successful in being allocated a portion of funding. Yes.

So can you just tell me what you've spent that funding on? Alright, the funding we have was sort of different to most of the funding that people receive for what they do because it's called capital funding. We don't have a building, so our funding was primarily to sort of re renovate the studio so it was to purchase equipment to bring us up to speed with, you know, modern technology. So we had a grant specifically to do that, to carry out refurbishment of a Jima radio at the station.

Excellent. And what difference has this funding made to the staff here and to the wider community that you serve? Well, in media, you might know because you're a media person yourself. If you want to do media, you have to be up with the times.

Now the studios we have, they have been there for a while. If we are going to be able to compete, train people to bring them up to speed with what's happening now, it was necessary to have the right things in. So now what we've done, we said to CRF, we want some money to purchase the following things, and that's what they said.

Uh, we want to have new studio. We want to have new, you know, desktops. We want to have everything.

So that's what they're funded us to do, to purchase up to-date equipment so that we're able to compete, so that we're to expand, because later on I'm sure you'll ask me something that will, I'll tell you where we're trying to go. As a station, OK, so it's our money is really slightly different from other fund funding that I know people have had because theirs is more towards refurb fixing buildings or that we're not, we're not that we're about equipment specific. So how did you find out about the application and how did you? Find filling out the the application form.

All right, if I, if I tell you the honest story, the Ujima started a new board of directors came into play in August of 2022 when we came on board. The funding had already been applied for, so the previous board applied for the funding when we came on board, and it's a new, entirely new board, we then took over. So we came and saw that funding.

So we restarted that conversation with CRF to say we're now the new board. We, we want to acknowledge the fact that you have, you know, funded this and we want to continue to do this. So that's what we did.

So in fairness to the people who did it before they did the application, I, I looked at it. It looked like the kind of application that was, you know, well put together, I think. The IRF was impressed with it and therefore they funded it.

There was a slight delay and there still is, but I'll come to that later. So it was a good idea for whoever put in the application form. Yes, it was a good idea for them to put it in.

You're happy that they put in for the CRF, CRF in a sense, because we get Bristol Impact Fund as well. It's coming from the same part, so it. The funding that we get is used primarily to employ the people we have.

So I think CRF felt, well, if Ujima's people working in this, this and that, it's only reasonable that we support them to be able to do that work because they need this, this and that. So I think the two came together so we had different pots, but it's coming from the same source. So I think they were impressed with the fact that we're a broadcaster and therefore they.

We're happy to assist with making sure we're able to broadcast competitively. Excellent. You did touch on it a moment ago.

What has impacted the delivery of your project? So from filling out the forms, receiving the funding and then delivering the upgrades or changes that you feel are important. The impact for me is, is, and I come back because I, I hinted that. The impact is that I think CRF has been very patient and tolerant with us in this way we still haven't finished that work right, and we have had to on occasions go back to them to say there has been delays and there has been because you know we start or this is what we want to get, then there's a whole process of getting that.

In our case, the funding is for the equipment, and there's a small bit of it for revenue to get somebody to do some of the work. That's the bit we struggle with a lot. So we Ujima relies a lot on volunteering.

So most of the people here, 70 people we have as presenters who are volunteers. Fortunately we have had the support of people who assist us with tech. So to move over to what we want to become, we have to rely on that.

So there has been delays in terms of compliance and what we can do internally and what we can't do. So we have now reached the stage where we're looking to complete by the end of July. So we have started.

So if you go into what we call the brain of the, of, of the station, all the things that needed to be replaced and refurbished are in place now. Excellent. So the, the last bit of work now is to convert the two studios to upgrade that, and I'm looking at this form which says we need to complete.

This end of grand form by the end of March 2026. So that's ultimately, what we need to complete the project itself by the end of July. So that's still our aim to complete that.

Um, so, have they been mostly the main setbacks and issues? The main setbacks has been compliance issues in terms of, you know, for example, we know of a lease which was, we had a licence before. A lease is a bit more powerful, so we have to comply with the laws around. How you can turn this and put that there and what was you can drill and some proofing all of that has to be approved by our landlords.

So the other thing is we, we put a list together of the equipment we needed at the time, bearing in mind we have only the 2 years. You will know in, in your industry these things change. So last year you're talking about, I don't know, a Windows 11.

This year you might be talking about. Um, what do you call this? AI. Oh, AI, yeah, yeah.

All that is coming now. So the tech. 1112.

Yes. And now it's. The technical team has to be working.

Yeah. To make sure that whatever happens when we finish, we're able to compete just the same. Um.

So, let's say we are, This phone at the time when we put together the bid we would want to say an Android 5. 4. We then realise by next year the company that we asked for it says we don't have that anymore.

We have moved up. You need to move up with the times, so negotiating to keep the price the same. Was a bit we had to do all of that so we have to revisit the whole bit and say right this is what things cost at the time we applied all the time when the application was made is that still the case? Are we able to negotiate and we had to do that so that's, that's something we learned and you know with technology in your industry things change every day.

Every day something new comes on board and if we are going to be competitive we have to make sure we stay on board. Yeah, it's great getting the funding, but then you need the technical expertise as well to go with that, yes. So you have been successful in getting the community resilience fund, which is great.

Have your future plans changed since receiving, This graph, yes, we are a broadcaster, so we broadcast. What we want to become is a media house, which is just, it's just more than broadcasting, so we're talking about Ujma TV. We're talking about social media we're talking about utilising all the new media stuff that's that's around now.

So we started out looking to get equipment to continue to broadcast, but at the same time we want to balance that with being able to become not just a broadcaster but a media house. That's what we want to go. So that's the plan and we think the the resilience fund certainly has enabled that.

Because we're able to purchase, as I say, equipment that will move us from not just being a broadcaster but actually being a media house. So that's, that's grand, um, expectations historically, yes, and, uh, you have been successful with the community resilience fund, right. But if you hadn't received this grant, where would your organisation be? What would you have done if you hadn't been successful? We would have had to find ways to still do what we had aimed to do, but like I aimed before, I think the word resilience is a very powerful word.

I think the fondness, um, identified. Uh, we fit into that terminology quite well, resilience. I also believe it was an innovative, um, funding.

I think CRF benefited from supporting a station like Ujima, so it's a bit of both. Because they're seeing that we're doing something which is going to make a a complete difference to people and to communities and to the world because remember we're a world broadcaster so I think if you're a funder and you're able to say we were part of ensuring this happens, it works both ways. So yes, the big answer to the question is without that funding we would probably not have been able to move as swiftly as we were able to, um, with without it.

And not just the funding that they gave, the support that they gave was also very useful. So you got good support and the tolerance level, because, you know, you get funding, you know, it works. You get funding, you have time to spend the job.

We were able to negotiate time changes and setbacks and all of that, and I think they were quite tolerant. They're very understanding, yes, yes. Um, so let's dream a little bit.

If money was absolutely no object, what would your priority be for the future of Fujima going forward? Our priority would be, as I say, to become one of these media houses that is special. We're special in that. licence gives us, I think, um, the power to do things that ordinary licences don't do.

We believe the big positive about Ojima is the difference it makes in the context of its mission, because if it's about the three E's and the I which I described earlier, empowerment, entertain, educate and inform, if you have a media house that does that. Right in the way we are doing it, then we will make a significant difference. So let me give an example.

Earlier I talked about in terminology. People talk about Afro-Caribbean, Somalia, this, that we're trying to change your in language so we talk about African heritage people. Whether you're born in Jamaica, Cuba, it doesn't matter as long as your descendants are Africans that's what we're saying we talk about we're not a black radio station that's the terminal you used before.

We're, we're a station that tries to highlight the contribution from African heritage people, right? It doesn't mean you work only with African heritage people. We're only about that, that's not the case, right? So that's what we think if money wasn't an object we'd be able to do, enable people to understand how, you know, we have done as a, as a people the things that we have done, not just in Bristol because we're not a Bristol station, we're a world station based in Bristol, so that's what we believe we'll be able to do. Um, you've applied for funding in the past.

So was there anything different or unique about the resilience fund application or the process compared with the other funding that you might have applied for or been successful in getting? Well, I ended that before, I think if you, if you're calling yourself the resilience fund, you have to determine whether or not you're funding something that's resilient. As a people, you will know. That we have been a resilient people for centuries.

There's no two ways about that one. So if I was a funder, I would want to be part of saying we were very instrumental in enabling this resilience to continue. So I think we fit the category perfectly, especially where it applies to being resilient.

Because you have to be resilient in whatever you do to be convicted to it, to believe in it, and to be clear that you are making a difference, you are impacting, you know, and as I said, we reach people that are sometimes described as in and out to reach. We can reach them. That's what we're about.

So we, uh. The moment we are accommodating people to be able to be accountable as well, right? So the show I do, for example, I bring people that show who are saying this is what we do we are finding it difficult to find people. Well, we'll find them for you.

You just need to come and tell people what you do, um, so that's what we do. So I think the resilience is a key word for me there if you're a resilience fund. Then I would want to feel that when you give money you're making sure that your name is embedded in why you give money so that was important excellent lastly.

How do you feel about the Community Resilience Fund? You mentioned that they were very understanding, they've moved dates, etc. So has it met your expectations and would you apply again if the opportunity arose? I thought you were going to say you need to apply again. Oh yes, most definitely we would definitely apply again for funding from CRF.

We have had funding as well. We have had different funding. I'm sure there's a project we're doing now that's funded by CRF, very sure.

I think it's a partnership with BCFM radio to to look at some things, and that funding came from CRF. So I think the Community resilience fund. Are very impressed with the work we do.

Has it met your expectations? Yes, yes, it has. I think in funding terms, I have found it very easy. So I'm looking at like the form you send back at the end.

It's a very simple form. This is what you ask for. Tell us how you spend the money and we're happy with that.

So it's not one of these complicated big bits. It's not like that. It's a very simplified, Process and like I say I am in a position where when we started as a new board because we started a new board, we have to learn very quickly because there was no satellite handing over we had to learn on our feet and the assistance and the support we have had from people in that in that team has been perfect excellent.

We have had you know deadlines late and all of that, but they were quite supportive and understanding. I think we have also brought to the table. Some things that they weren't sort of aware of.

So like if you're doing data, for example, you produce a form and it says we want the following data. We have had to be saying to foreigners, well, you have to be very mindful of how you use language. So for us, if you say African and then put Somalia, you're dividing, you're taking Africans out of Africa.

Somalians are African, so. You, you can't put African then put Somalian. That's, that's, so we have been instrumental in changing the narrative in terms of people understanding difference between ancestry, nationality, where you were born.

So we use simplify things. What's your descendants, Africans, where were you born? Born in Jamaica. What's your current nationality? British.

We have had to be changing language. I know people look at. You, you know, so they just, so when you see black, which you will see on some farms, you see a whole long list of different things that I think keeps us in a sense separated.

Jima's purpose and mission is to try and enable and encourage people who wouldn't otherwise understand all that, but that's what we're about. And you felt CRF were conducive to that listening, understanding, because part of what I think will happen going forward, we have offered. Um, fondness, the opportunity to talk about that in terms of when they do stats they have to understand the difference with Laujin because we're not like most of them because of what we are about, uh, and so I think they will learn from us as well because we have the experience and the expertise to be able to support fondness to understand why we are different.

So when you fund difference, I think that's a powerful thing. So you're not funding the same thing, and that's why I keep using the word resilience, you know, if you identify that you're funding something that ultimately would benefit the world, which is what we think Ujima will do, then that can't be a bad thing. So even though you get the funding, you're also making sure you give.

The other thing that they were impressed with, and I think most people funds are. We have been able to maintain a pool of volunteers for a long time. Remember, most of our presenters are volunteers.

You will know from your experience it's not very easy to keep volunteers in anything. People love what they do. People come on here.

They're broadcasting. People listen to them. So you feel that you're doing something for your community and for your own development.

We have moved people on from you have gone on to other media stations and all that. So we think it's, it's effective in that way. Funders benefit from that too, because when they do their statistics, it shows that they are making a difference with the funding they provide because who they fund is making a difference.

So in the same way we will say, and I'm saying this, you know, we don't know apology, the CRF grant we had was very useful, still will be. I'm sure we'll come back, but we are also, as people receive funding, we believe we benefit funders when they are able to see that their money is making a difference. It's excellent.

Um, thank you so much for speaking to me. Is there anything else you would like to mention? Uh, well, I didn't say I, I am currently part of the we have a unique board now because we have a, a, a, a new board of people who are sort of singing from the same hymn sheet and we are very convicted to our mission, um, so our priority now is to sort of move us into the thirty-third century because, you know, with media everything is moving very quickly. So we think there are no opportunities for us to become trendsetters, to become leaders, to become, you know, so we do have FM licence and a DAV licence which makes us quite big.

We have quite good useful partners. Um, the CX and investment team is one of them, because, as I said, we have had quite a lot of support from the, the grants team in the city council, uh, including CRRF. So I think, um, yes, I would be the first to say.

As I said, I think funders who support initiatives like this have to be respected and regarded and be said that yes, we feel that you know we have had quite a good support from the CRF. That's brilliant. Thank you so much.

Right. I.