Puerto Cabezas , Nicaragua — Salvador Sarmiento knows the needs of this community. He has seen all of them in his eight years of operating a Christian radio station here.

Sitting in a chair, swatting off mosquitoes at the end of the day, Pastor Sarmiento ticks off the hardships that exist in this hot, isolated and fast-growing town.

“We have drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, rape, crime, drug trafficking, thievery, prostitution, marital infidelity, poverty, unemployment” he said. “But most of all, our people have spiritual needs.”

To help address those needs, Sarmiento’s day begins well before dawn when his 1,000 watt FM transmitter kicks on at 4 a.m. and starts broadcasting programs in the local Miskito language, reaching out to rural residents beginning their day. Sarmiento said that farmers outside of town requested the pre-dawn broadcasts and carry small portable radios with them all day to listen to Radio Veca.

And, often it doesn’t end until well after dark as he sits in the yard between his house and the radio studio counseling with people who come by seeking help after hearing a program on the radio.

Radio Veca (La Voz Evangelica de la Costa Atlantica — The Christian Voice of the Atlantic Coast) serves nearly 100,000 residents along Nicaragua’s swampy Caribbean coast. The population, primarily consisting of Miskito Indians, lives in a self-supporting community that has little trade with the outside world. The country’s capital, Managua, is 24-hours away by bus over an almost impossible mud track populated by bandits and swarms of mosquitoes or an hour and a half away by airplane.

With very few tourists, the area survives by subsistence farming, fishing and the various local businesses that support the community.

Programs, which are broadcast in Miskito, Spanish and English, focus on biblical solutions to contemporary problems, Sarmiento explains. “We teach the Bible, we tell people about the consequences of using drugs, and we talk about family problems. We also carry educational programs, features about health, and special programs for women, children and youth.”