Host
VOICE FROM THE HORN Podcast
VOICE FROM THE HORN – VOFTHO Podcast
Stories, Politics, Culture & Voices from the Horn of Africa
VOICE FROM THE HORN (VOFTHO Podcast) is an independent storytelling and media platform exploring identity, exile, politics, literature, culture, and the lived experiences of displaced communities from the Horn of Africa.
Founded in 2020 by Chala Hailu Abate, the platform focuses especially on the voices of first-generation refugees, Oromo youth in the diaspora, and communities navigating migration, memory, and belonging.
Through conversations, documentaries, poetry, and personal narratives, VOFTHO creates space for stories often overlooked by mainstream media. The podcast features writers, artists, professionals, activists, and survivors whose journeys reflect resilience, identity, and social transformation.
The platform also produces documentary content examining historical and contemporary events in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, with particular attention to Oromia, human rights, political memory, and cultural preservation.
VOICE FROM THE HORN continues a broader independent media journey connected to earlier digital initiatives including:
- Dhaloota Fincilaa
- Abootee Times
- Miidiyaa Dhaddacha Oromo
- BB-Show
Despite censorship, platform removals, and political pressure, the mission remains unchanged:
to preserve memory, amplify silenced voices, and create dialogue across generations and borders.
Contributors
Host
CHALA ABATE
Chala Abate aka Caalaa Hayiluu Abaataa in Afaan Oromo, an Oromo-Ethiopian poet who was imprisoned and tortured in his country of origin for writing poetry critical of the regime. He was a Law student at Adama University before he left his homeland Oromia-Ethiopia and he also worked with many different international organizations and local NGOs. Chala has studied also Peace and conflict studies at Malmö University and now studies pedagogy on distance. Lives in safety in Sweden today. But his thoughts remain back in Ethiopia with the oppressed Oromo people. He is the author of three books in A/ Oromo and a very active online human rights activist. Chala has been using the social media and working as a freelance journalist on 'Radiosydväst' and runs Channel Oromia and Miidiyaa Dhaddacha Oromoo since 2015 to reach out to his people. To know more about the author: http://www.untoldstoriesonline.com/my-experience-of-maekelawi-ethiopia/ https://miidiyaadhaddachaoromoo.com/'