Radio Ndeke Luka (RNL) began broadcasting in 2000. It took over from Radio Minurca, the radio station of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), which handed over the radio to Fondation Hirondelle after leaving the country. The name Ndeke Luka was born from the contraction of Ndeke, the Sango word for a bird, and Luka, derived from the English word luck. Ndeke Luka means Auspicious Bird.