By Barbra Nyamwiza
My name is Barbra Nyamwiza. I work as the Media in Education Advocacy Manager at New Vision. I also anchor news at XFM, host the Urban Magazine at Urban TV Uganda. Whenever there is opportunity, I do scripts and voice overs for commercial production. Prior to that, was a news anchor and also children’s show host at Radio West and TV West in Mbarara, for 8 years.
The first time I heard about Women in News (WIN) was November of last year, from Sarah Biryomumaisho, a friend who was part of the previous year’s cohort, and also from Barbara Kaija, our editor-in-chief, who never tired from reminding us to apply for the programme.
Earlier this year, I got news that I had been admitted to the programme. It was beyond an honour for me, after learning and reading about what this means to any woman in the media world.
We had our very first encounter in March, at our national gathering. Here, I got to meet all the other 2020 WINners and shared space with coaches as well as Dr. Tikhala Chibwana (RIP), who was WIN’s Africa Director. This day opened my eyes and ears to a lot of rebooting in terms of how to run the newsroom, being a manager.
I have learned, through my coach and other trainers, about how to handle supervisees, finances, motivation, delegation, name it. The programme has also exposed me a lot to career growth, knowing my strengths, purpose and call to serve, and also planning for what exactly I want to do in order to grow. Thanks to WIN, I am able to think beyond my job, and also learn to manage diversity in every aspect.
Also notably, the programme has gotten me exposed to crisis management. The best example is this COVID-19 pandemic. It got us unaware and we have had a lot of guidance on how to live within the ‘new normal’ and embrace it.
I look forward to being a better woman in the news world and wherever else I will serve henceforth, thanks to WIN!
Barbara Nyamwiza is the Media in Education Advocacy Manager at New Vision in Uganda.
