I heard about AWiM training through a forwarded message on whatsapp by my mentor and he convinced me to try my luck. At first I was uncertain but I chose to proceed with the application. To be candid, I had no project in mind but when I filled out the application, I wrote down the first idea that came to mind and surprisingly I found myself among the 200 applicants who qualified for the training, I could not explain my joy and I was anxious to know other female journalists from different parts of East Africa.

This training has been a journey of learning and interaction. The platform has created a new understanding of the broader picture of reporting health issues from different perspectives. Not to mention how the quizzes provided after every module has shaped my understanding of the courses even deeper.

Accessing, interpreting and fact checking scientific information by Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa has been an eye opener for me. From learning and distinguishing terminologies to data collection methods and the concept of conceptual framework in helping me to get a deeper understanding of research work. The knowledge that I’ve gained in this course will be of great help when in the field as well as schoolwork. I never understood the concept of research in school until Dr. Bewa gave it a whole new perspective, from how research findings work and coming up with research questions relating to your study and the importance of fact checking information and data to ensure its validity. This has definitely been my favourite course.

Safety for journalists by Vincesia Fuka is one course that got me thinking back to all the things I have been doing wrong when it comes to my safety both online and offline. I never really took safety as a big concern even when sometimes my safety was at risk as I’ve had incidences of being followed during the night using the same route to and from work. After the insightful training on safety, I can say that right now I have started taking precautions concerning my safety and changing routes is one of them. I have never really been a fan of social media sites but I still have taken into consideration safety measures that I can take to avoid cyberbullying or making myself vulnerable to such threats. I will definitely share the knowledge of safety concerns with my colleagues as I understand safety precautions need to be taken by the organisation in enhancing safety for the whole crew. Another thing I learned and really gave a thought about is protecting phones and creating strong passwords. All my devices used to have a similar password on everything but I learnt that can be a serious safety risk and to rectify this, I ensured that I have created stronger passwords that are not similar.

Balanced health reporting by Esther Nakazzi was a very insightful course. I had never known that there are different ways to report on controversies and still maintain a neutral tone. I have always avoided doing controversies due to fear but now with Nakazzi’s explanation on how controversies can be made relevant without sounding biased, I can confidently start reporting and maybe become a health reporter. As journalists, we need to be more aware of the type of news and information circulating around us so as not to feed the public with fake news and misinformation as we have seen how fake news has been on the rise especially since the outbreak of the covid19 pandemic.

I never thought of reporting stories on the angle of subjectivity other than objectivity because I thought reporting on personal experiences would bring about bias. But that’s not what Sumeya Gasa in Ethical health reporting pointed out. Her view of subjectivity reportage was very enjoyable and insightful because it can be a way of building a bridge between the particular and the universal. We should not put our sources in peril as this may lead to losing their trust and also putting them at risk.

Identifying gendered angles has shaped my thinking into producing stories that are gendered and also those that intersect and conform to the gender of my organisation. As Rouna Meyer says “don’t let your gender block you from reporting and delivering stories”.

At first, I thought algorithm by just the word was very hard and technical until I interacted with the facilitator and going through the modules and all the explanations, I fell in love. It’s the technicality that makes it so interesting you want to continue gaining more and more knowledge. I even got to understand how algorithms can be used in broadcast media in news creation and distribution and it was such an amazing session with Mr. Blaise Aboh.

It has been such an amazing journey of learning and interacting with different journalists and sharing knowledge. I am thankful and appreciative for being a part of the #RCCE2020 programme by AWiM in partnership with UNESCO. The knowledge I have grasped from this training will come a lot in handy when I am doing my project. THANK YOU AWIM.