An old car rattles across the Sahara desert from Algeria in the North of Africa to Niamey, the French-speaking capital of Niger Republic, to the South. As practicing Muslims, the riders stop five times a day to face Mecca and pray. They represent 90% of Niger’s population trying to reach paradise through the tenets of Islam. This is all the hope they have. . . . Or is it?

Something about the travel-worn vehicle sounds inconsistent, and it doesn’t take long to hear why. A radio blares with a Christian program! In this Muslim context, that is highly unusual.

But Radio Espoir (Radio Hope) makes this possible. While Niger does not allow religious radio stations, it does permit a certain percentage of religious programming. Therefore, SIM has jumped at the opportunity to pepper Christian programs in and around others on community health and development.

Rising from the sand in Niamey, a brand new radio tower broadcasts stories about local life that have people rolling on the floor with laughter. The director of programming for Radio Espoir is a marriage counselor, and through his messages, many come to a new understanding of family life. Programs for the family filter into homes through the broadcasts of Radio Espoir. More than a million people in Niamey and the surrounding region can now hear the good news of hope in Jesus, perhaps for the first time!

The long arm of hope reaches even further when a pastor treks into a Fulani village outside Niamey. When he arrives, the everyone listens to the programs of Radio Espoir in their own language. Soon programs will be available in Tamajaq, telling about the prophets Abraham, Moses and David.

One hour of programming costs USD $60 ($1 per minute). SIM now also faces a golden opportunity to purchase a building in a prime location to house Radio Espoir. If you would like to invest in the lives of millions of people desperately in need of hope, you may contact your nearest SIM Sending office. In some countries, you may give online. Wouldn't it be something if—because you gave—the next car rolling through town carried Christians to worship in the local church!