Emergent Woman: The Podcast from Girls Must

Girls Must is transforming from audio to visual content for the #EmergentWoman Podcast.

Chandiru Grace is a primary teacher living with visual impairment. Before going blind Grace was just a normal child who enjoyed being with her mother, and in this podcast she describes how traumatic she found going blind to be and how determined she and her mother was to find the independence she had lost. Listen in now to learn a thing or two from her struggles.

If you’re an adult who experienced sexual abuse as a child, know that you are not alone. No matter what, the abuse was not your fault. It’s never too late to start healing from this experience. If you experienced sexual abuse as a child, you may encounter a range of short- and long-term effects that many survivors face. As an adult survivor of child sexual abuse, Shakira Namwanje shares her heart wrenching story of how she was defiled at 8 years and later discovered she was HIV positive.

Tune in to know what she is up to and where she draws her energy to keep going even after this “ordeal” as she calls it.

"Maybe when we change the lives of people who suffer because of others, then I can say youth movements are effective, when we have the youth movements that can actually change the African Union into what it really needs to be, then I would say young people are effective but until then I don't think we have come together enough for our causes."

Dr. Shakira Choonara is a rising global icon, bold activist and 2017 Woman of the Year in Health, South Africa. She is an established research-advocacy specialist in public health. Her most notable and influential role to date is to be appointed to the inaugural African Union Youth Advisory Council. She has recently ventured into being an independent public health practitioner working on an impressive list of global health projects led by United Nations (UN) agencies, the World Health Organization, international and regional non-governmental organizations.

Tune in to hear how Dr. Shakira came from being just an ordinary girl to becoming an African Union Youth Envoy and how this is just a small step in her journey to changing the world.

Volunteering helped Olgah see the bigger picture, to realize that her work as a volunteer can have an impact far beyond herself and could be the drop in the ocean that could save a life out there.

Olgah Daphine Namukuza is a sexual health activist and one of the emerging female leaders in the Civil Society against the systematic discrimination of delivery of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services to the youth especially those leaving with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. She is currently serving as the programs manager at Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV& AIDS (UNYPA).

Tune in to learn how she made it from just a mere volunteer to becoming the emergent woman she is today and giving insights on how to improve SRHR service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do you know someone who has overcome addiction? That is the ultimate success story – going from the rock bottom associated with substance abuse and addiction to successfully reaching – and maintaining – sobriety can be one of the most difficult yet rewarding processes of your life. Often, people feel discouraged along the way. Even if you know that it is possible to overcome your drug addiction, it can be difficult to believe in yourself when the going gets rough on the road to recovery. Some people battle their addictions for years, while others become addicted to drugs or alcohol very quickly. Either way, it can often seem impossible to stop this substance abuse in the face of addiction.

Thankfully, as we know, it is not impossible no matter what the circumstances are. Nothing is quite as inspiring as hearing a story of success, which is why Nina Roz shares a little bit of her story of how drugs almost made her music career hit rock bottom.

Aisha Ali loved talking to kids and young people about financial literacy and financial management skills, what she didn't know was that one day she would be asked to put a price tag on something she would do for free. Tune in to hear how she turned her passion into IProfile foundation, a social enterprise that seeks to run long term projects with primary schools and refugee youths as well as children to promote integration and conflict skills with emphasis on leadership and financial literacy. As a Somali refugee living in Uganda, Ali identifies with all displaced people and is committed to improving their quality of life.