Tag: COVID-19

Pandemic took away my paycheck, but brightened my career prospects

Janet Otieno was editing the final page of a magazine for the Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, when she received a call from human resources. It was 5pm in April 2020, about a month after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Tanzania. Janet, the acting managing editor and features editor at Mwananchi Communications in Tanzania, stopped mid-sentence […]

Pandemic sacrifices: How COVID-19 stalled my career

I began working as a freelance writer and journalist in 2018, after leaving my job in HR consulting. I loved writing and I wanted more flexibility: I wanted to spend time with my daughter.   After my son was born in 2019, I had less time to work on my writing career. Taking care of the baby […]

Pandemic reporting drove me to the brink of suicide

I arrive for the Friday afternoon appointment with Eunice Omollo right on time. Eunice, a health and science journalist at the Nation Media Group in Kenya, has been hesitant to share her story, but when we set up this interview, she assured me she was ready.   There is no sign of Eunice, and after a few minutes of waiting, […]

AWiM and UNESCO Empowered and Researched East African Women Journalists During COVID-19

Online training was not one of our goals for 2020. Nor did we envision training a whopping 200 East African women on six courses. But then the world did not imagine that COVID-19 would become a pandemic. With the support of UNESCO, within the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) framework, we were […]

Bravo AWiM! You are the Dose I’ve Been Looking For by Beatrice Dama Kahindi

My story started late at night when I received a late night call from my superior which I was tempted to ignore as I was so sleepy thought it was my wake up alarm. Little did I know that it was a wakeup call for me. He asked me to try and apply for the […]

If they are unable to see your work; it doesn’t mean you are worth nothing! by Joyce Wangui Wachira-Kangema

“Life is a test, never give up” Journalism is not for a faint heart! Every Female journalists around the world has a story to tell about the terrible ordeal they (have) had been through while in the line of their duties. Some say they missed opportunities, promotions or those ‘big’ assignments because they said no […]

My Journey of Journalism Transformation has just began with AWiM By Lilian Museka

As I walk through Lindi area of Kibra, the largest slum in Kenya and Africa to conduct interviews for my pitch, so many questions linger in my mind considering the rate of crime; how safe am I? How safe are my equipment? Could there be someone tracking me since I look more of a stranger? […]

How Social Media Introduced Me to AWiM by Rachel Nduati

There is no lie in the claim that social media is a power tool in discovering opportunities that are way beyond what we expect. I learned about African Women in the Media through a social media post from an acquaintance. Since the pandemic has created a lot of spare time, I decided to research about […]

To Think I Almost Missed #RCCE2020

To think I almost missed this training!   I heard about AWiM’s RCCE programme through a forwarded WhatsApp message in one of the groups I am in. The lady who forwarded it wrote: “guys jaribuni” translated as “guys try your luck.” I applied for the training immediately, then I also forwarded the link to a friend to try her luck. I am on a maternity leave, and both electric and internet services at my place had been interrupted for almost a week. […]

How #RCCE2020 Changed my Perspective on Safety by Ann Ndung’u

Safety to me used to be just about physical safety, however that perspective has been broadened via the #RCCE2020 Training of which I am a participant. During my internship period, I faced one of what I can now say were threats but at the time, I did not understand what was happening around me, and I thought that has to happen in every working […]