Minority Africa: From a WhatsApp Platform to Physical Sessions, This Nigerian Initiative is Helping Women Affected by Conflict Navigate Their Trauma
Name/Bio: Yahuza Bawage is a development journalist documenting how people and organizations are responding to social and humanitarian problems across Nigerian communities.
Newsroom: Minority Africa is a digital publication using data-driven multimedia journalism to tell minority stories from across Africa. The platform covers women, sexual, gender, ethnic, and religious minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, through a solutions journalism lens.
Genre of Journalism: Solutions Journalism
Link to published story: Click here
Insider tips from Yahuza Bawage: Here is my pitch to Minority Africa, pitched to the general mail (editorial@minorityafrica.org.)–For Minority Africa to consider your pitch, your story must be a solutions journalism story that features how minorities and marginalized groups are responding to problems affecting them across African communities. You must include in your pitch that you are going to seek an expert opinion regarding the implemented solution. It is important to know that your story will likely be commissioned if you happen to be a minority yourself and the platform doesn't cover time-sensitive stories. See the pitch guide here.
6. The pitch from Yahuza Bawage to Minority Africa:
Dear Editor,
I hope this email finds you well.
Please find my pitch for a Solution Story written below:
I am Yahuza Abdulkadir–a growing freelance writer and journalist interested in African arts and cultures as well as focused on reporting local solutions happening in underreported and marginalized communities across Nigeria.
I am very glad to send this pitch over to you with a keen interest in writing about FeelNHeal — a local initiative in Maiduguri (North-Eastern Nigeria) offering counselling and mental health services to young girls and women suffering from trauma due to the decade-long experience of insurgency in the region.
In this community, women are often seen as minorities but this initiative is giving them a voice – making them trauma resilient – equipping them with enough knowledge to navigate through life and be leaders in their communities who can advocate for a better and healthy society.
I am from this community affected by conflicts. So I find Minority Africa as the right platform to pitch this particular story. However, I will cover the story through a text (written) format using on-the-ground storytelling that will feature strong characters (both the solution providers and beneficiaries). I will attach pictures and a video shot to authenticate the story. I will also talk to an expert in the field of (mental health and trauma resilience) and feature his or her opinion.
I will be available to work on the story and submit it 14 days after the day of commissioning.
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
Yahuza.