The RCP project was formally launched in November 2001 in Niamey. The Freeplay Foundation donated 12,445 Freeplay radios to the government which were comprised of 6 different models returned to the Freeplay Energy Group, under the company's warranty scheme. The Freeplay Energy Group gave them to the Freeplay Foundation to use in the project.
The radios arrived in Niamey in February 2002. While many of them were in good working condition, others were broken and could either be repaired or used for spare parts. The Freeplay Foundation and the UNDP co-sponsored a Freeplay technician to travel to Niger to set up a repair facility and to coordinate the training of locals in the inspection and reconditioning of the radios - the project included a job creation component. Six women ex-offenders, released from prison by the Minister of Justice in a government initiative for the social rehabilitation of former prisoners, graduated from this 2-week intensive training course.
The National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit Arms coordinated the distribution of the radios to communities in the Diffa and Agadez areas, where the rebellion flared in the 1990s. In addition, they manage the collection and decommissioning of the guns.
In late 2002 weapons were exchanged for radios and then were symbolically burned in a "Flame of Peace" ceremony. The charred remains of weapons of Russian, USA, French, Belgian, Italian, German, and Egyptian makes were cut up into pieces by the military.
"Illicit arms flowed into Niger during the Tuareg and Toubou rebellions in the 1990's. In addition to guns being exchanged in Agadez, a large exchange also took place in September in the Diffa region near the Chad frontier. To date, several thousand Freeplay radios have been exchanged for small arms."
