Radio Agatashya (August 1994 - Oktober 1996) war am Aufbau der Stiftung Hirondelle wesentlich beteiligt. Dieses Medium wurde durch die Schweizer Sektion von Reporter Ohne Grenzen in Bukavuan and der Grenze zwischen Kongo (zur Zeit der Republik Zaire) und Ruanda zur Unterstützung aller Opfer des Genozids und der Massaker im Jahr 1994 in Ruanda eingerichtet. Die Idee dieses unabhängigen Radios wurde im Mai 1994 der Menschenrechtskommission in Genf vorgestellt, um eine Alternative zu den Hassmedien in Ruanda zu bieten, insbesondere zum Radio des Milles Collines, und um deren Propaganda zu bekämpfen. Die ursprüngliche Finanzierung wurde von der Schweizer Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit übernommen. Die in Ruanda und in Burundi eingeleiteten Schritte zum Erhalt einer Sendekonzession waren gescheitert.

The broadcasts began on 4 August 1994: three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, in Kinyarwanda, French, and on 13 August in Swahili. The initial humanitarian vocation was soon complemented by strictly factual news, without comment, which gradually formed the basis of the radio’s editorial line. Supervised by Swiss journalists, the staff were Rwandan and Zairian. In September 1994, Radio Agatashya obtained permission from the Rwandan government to open a correspondent office in Kigali, but, pending a new press law, it did not get authorization to broadcast from the Rwandan capital. In the spring of 1995, Reporters Without Borders withdrew from the project.

It was taken over in April 1995 by Fondation Hirondelle, which was created by Swiss journalists Philippe Dahinden, Jean-Marie Etter and François Gross, originators of Radio Agatashya. The broadcasting network was being expanded, with a re-broadcasting station in Goma and another in Uvira. The potential audience of Radio Agatashya at this time was more than four million listeners. A partnership agreement with UNHCR led the radio to participate in a mass information campaign for Rwandan refugees. A fruitful collaboration was established with the Studio Ijambo, set up by American NGO Search for Common Ground in Burundi. In November 1995, Radio Agatashya became a regional radio station for the Kivus, Rwanda and Burundi (accessible all the way to Bujumbura). In September 1996, the first heavy artillery fire marked the beginning of fighting between Laurent-Désiré Kabila's men, supported by the Rwandan army, and the Zairian army. Fighting took place around the main transmitter on October 27, 1996. The broadcasts were suspended, and did not resume.