‘We’re about people doing great things’
National Lottery-funded Jambo! Radio aims to entertain and inspire listeners locally and all over the world with African stories and music
She has a smile listeners can hear across the airwaves and, since April, presenter Bene Briggs has shared her passion for African culture and entertainment through her show on Jambo! Radio.
“When I moved here 13 years ago with my Scottish husband, I was pigeonholed as ‘African’, but Africa has thousands of cultures and languages,” says Bene. It’s this diversity she hopes to convey as a volunteer on the National Lottery-funded Jambo! Radio.
“I tell my children, ‘You have a great history and culture,’” says Bene, a lawyer and editor. As she describes seeing them grow up both Nigerian and Scottish, she’s clearly proud. But, she explains, for other African families in Scotland, the desire to assimilate can mean losing many elements of their culture.
“Language is lost to a child growing up in a foreign country, and so are some of the traditions. To balance that out, I cook more Nigerian food and tell Nigerian stories. Just being away from there makes me want to hold on to my roots more strongly.”
Bene is keen to share this love of her culture not only with Africans living in
Scotland, but around the world. “We are geared towards the black African community in Scotland, but as Jambo! is internet based we have listeners everywhere.”
Bene insists that her show should focus on the positive.“It’s all about people achieving great things or overcoming problems. Some stories are sad, but they also show how people can overcome their circumstances.”
“I do a two-hour show. I interview people who’ve done something amazing; I cover developments like a new African museum opening in Senegal, and at the end of the show I tell the story of a figure in African history. And I intersperse it all with music.”
“Jambo! Radio started in April mainly to inform the Afro- Caribbean community in Scotland about coronavirus, as they are disproportionately affected,” says Bene.
But it only got going with support from The National Lottery – and that’s thanks to the £30million* you raise for good causes every week by playing. The funds meant presenters could get recording equipment in their homes so they could carry on during lockdown.
‘Being away makes me want to hold on to my roots’