How Brandy Used Her Amazing Talent for Storytelling to Launch Her Podcast in Uganda
Brandy Valentine Azeirwe attended the Cameras For Girls' second photography training, conducted in Uganda in June 2019. At the time, she was a recent graduate from the Bachelors' degree program in Mass Communications and Journalism from Uganda Christian University in Kampala.
Brandy setting up her camera settings
I immediately fell in love with Brandy's personality – she was confident, bold and had no qualms challenging me, which made me work harder to deliver her the content I was there to teach, which was beginner photography. She took to it like a duck to water. She was a natural and especially loved investigating the videos she could capture with the Canon G series camera Cameras For Girls gave to her.
As was the case for many female students attending the 3-day workshop, photography was a part of the curriculum in the university. However, there were over 600 students in the four-year program and only 100 cameras to go around; hence many of them never got the hands-on practice required to get a job in journalism.
Females in The Developing World Have Less Rights Than Males
Would it surprise you to know that in Uganda, females who endeavour to become journalists must own their own camera and know how to use it, but the same is not required of males? Unfair right?
But that's life for females in the developed world and the reason we started our photography and business training program in Africa – to challenge that status quo and help females like Brandy get a head start with their career goals.
Brandy was born in Rubanda District in South-Western Uganda and is the firstborn of three children. Unlike many of the other students we taught, Brandy grew up in a home where both her parents were educated and working. Her father is an IT Specialist, and her mother is a businesswoman with her own interior design business. Brandy's and her siblings had support from both parents to pursue an education and a life of her choosing.
Sadly, this is not the case for many females in the developed world because females are uneducated in most households. In a world where education is not accessible, most will educate their sons over daughters unless both parents are educated and working. When this happens, there is a positive upswing in the economy. However, when females are not educated and instead have too many babies with mouths to feed at home, then a negative pervasive poverty cycle exists.
Brandy started with dreams of becoming a lawyer but found that it was not creative enough for her and so she switched to journalism, where she could still use that investigative side of her personality.
Brandy Comes From a Creative Family
Brandy's sister Jojo is a Vlogger, and her brother Didier is learning how to play the violin. Creativity abounds in this family, and other than photography, videography and podcasting, Brandy enjoys theatre, poetry, prose, motion photography and hosting events for fundraisers.
She says, "The Cameras For Girls training improved my creative storytelling as I learnt how to use photos to tell a progressive story amidst a constantly moving world. I also learnt that where one form or art stops, another starts; this led me to start my podcast."
Brandy is, if nothing else, a great communicator at heart and wanted to start her podcast to use her voice and talents to tell stories that will make the world a better place.
The Live It Up Podcast is an audio-visual production of stories on lessons, life and survivorships with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Under the Uganda Child Cancer Foundation, she started this podcast to create awareness on Cancer, raise support for patients battling childhood cancers, and have a platform of hope for families with patients through cancer survivor experience stories.
Brandy's sister Jojo is a Vlogger, and her brother Didier is learning how to play the violin. Creativity abounds in this family, and other than photography, videography and podcasting, Brandy enjoys theatre, poetry, prose, motion photography and hosting events for fundraisers.
She says, "The Cameras For Girls training improved my creative storytelling as I learnt how to use photos to tell a progressive story amidst a constantly moving world. I also learnt that where one form or art stops, another starts; this led me to start my podcast."
Brandy is, if nothing else, a great communicator at heart and wanted to start her podcast to use her voice and talents to tell stories that will make the world a better place.
The Podcast Live It Up Features Stories About Cancer
Brandy's podcast is entitled "Live It Up," an audio-visual production of stories on lessons, life and survivorships for people living with Non-Communicable Diseases, such as Cancer. Under the auspices of the Uganda Child Cancer Foundation, she started the podcast to promote her talents and bring awareness of Cancer, raise support for patients who are battling childhood cancer, and provide a platform of hope for families living with Cancer. She focuses on Cancer Survivorship Stories.
The Live It Up Podcast is an audio-visual production of stories on lessons, life and survivorships with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Under the Uganda Child Cancer Foundation, she started this podcast to create awareness on Cancer, raise support for patients battling childhood cancers, and have a platform of hope for families with patients through cancer survivor experience stories.
Please take a listen to Brandy's Podcast, Live It Up, on your favourite Podcast platform and give her a thumbs up!
Please read our BLOG, where we share stories about our students who have gone through the photography training with Cameras For Girls. We love sharing their stories!
Below are some of the photos that Brandy took during the 3-day workshop and also during the year-long curriculum.
Dog in Kampala @BrandyAzeirwe
Woman doing her washing @BrandyAzeirwe
Photo of Lynn taking photos in the Cameras For Girls Workshop @BrandyAzeirwe
Please take a listen to Brandy's Podcast, Live It Up, on your favourite Podcast platform.
