The Solutions Journalism Network’s Africa Initiative on Monday named its inaugural set of 10 Fellows who will implement solutions journalism-focused projects across Kenya and Nigeria. Pictures, brief profile, and details of projects they will implement are below:
Abdulkareem MOJEED (@mojeed07) is an investigative journalist and researcher working with Nigeria’s Premium Times newspaper. His project is a reporting series called “Climate Smart Agriculture solutions,” which will focus on how farmers are using homegrown and adapted agricultural practices to boycott existing extreme climatic change events in peri-urban communities in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Adhiambo Edith MAGAK (@oedithknight) is a freelance writer published in outlets across the UK, America, and in Kenya. Her project “Special Needs Kenya” is a series of mediated conversations that will unearth and curate the solutions that young people living with physical, hearing, and mental health disabilities have developed, in order to thrive and improve the quality of their everyday life. She hopes that the findings will be adopted and replicated by the Disability community in Kenya.
Angela OKETCH (@angieoketch) is a Health and Science reporter with the Nation Media Group, has received Presidential Honors from Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on her exemplary Covid-19 coverage. She will be working on a reporting series on the solutions that peer-to-peer community groups in Kenya are implementing to reduce HIV viral load and transmission in selected counties across Kenya.
Brian MALIKA (@brianmalika) is the Founder of One More Percent, a grassroots media advocacy non-profit, as well as a freelance journalist focusing on climate change, food, and nutrition.
His project, Climate Solutions Media Lab will build the reporting capacity of 10 underrepresented media content creators aged between 15 – 24 years, enabling them to showcase climate change solutions from rural and coastal tropical Kenya.
, (@chriscaptain7) a radio presenter and publisher with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation will be overseeing a multilingual (English and Luo) series of reports called “Curbing the Spread at the Lakeside,” on how the Lake Region communities are curbing the spread of the Coronavirus. The project will prioritise the Covid-19 solutions being implemented by Boda Boda (public transport) operators who are crucial to starting, and breaking the chain of the spread of Covid-19 in Kenya.
Jamiu FOLARIN (@GERMANEO) teaches Mass Communication at Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State in South West Nigeria, where he is a student favourite. A freelance journalist and doctoral candidate with over ten years’ experience, his project will pioneer formal uptake of solutions journalism by educators, students, and reporters. His goal is “Mainstreaming Solutions Journalism in Ogun State.”
(@lotufodunrin) has over 35 years experience as a journalist and media trainer; he is a part-time lecturer at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism. Lekan is Founder/Executive Director of Media Career Development Network, Nigeria’s foremost media career support organisation, with outreach across Africa. His project is the creation of the West Africa Solution Journalism Hub, a dedicated section of the Media Career Development Network website on story ideas, reports, links, and career resources that are linked to solution journalism. He will be working with a network of Journalists from West Africa, including writers with disabilities, to produce content for the Hub.
Rey Bulambo EGIDE (@reybulambo15) is a freelance cinematographer and theatre practitioner, who has awards within and beyond Africa for his work on minority communities. For the Fellowship, his project will train actors and deliver solutions-focused performances through drama and music.
Seun DUROJAIYE (@SeunDuro1) is a journalist and the founder of Social Voices, a digital platform for public service journalism, and was recently a fellow of the African Women Journalism Project, covering underreported issues around COVID-19 in Africa. Her project “Localizing SoJo” will deliver training in (and publication of) solutions journalism stories in three of Nigeria’s official languages – Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba – and Pidgin English. She aims to “combat information poverty” by ensuring non-English audiences can access solutions-based news reports about Nigeria.
Zainab SANNI (@zeechecks) is an Investigative journalist currently serving as Deputy Director for News and Current Affairs at Agidigbo FM in Oyo state, Nigeria. Her “Solutions Journalism for Radio” project will establish a dedicated news desk for Agidigbo 88.7FM, focusing on gender and environmental-based solutions reporting, which will be aired in English and Yoruba. She expects this project will create a culture of solutions journalism among broadcast reporters and introduce the approach to the grassroots audience in Southwest Nigeria.