For three weeks, Bournemouth University student Hilda Najjumbа traded the UK for a journalism internship in Eswatini with Inside Biz. Supported by All Out Africa and funded through the Turing Scheme, the experience gave Hilda the opportunity to develop her journalism skills, explore a new culture and experience working abroad for the first time.
Hi my name is Hilda Najjumba and I’m now a final year multimedia journalism student at Bournemouth University. I specifically chose this university because I wanted to move away from home but not too far, live somewhere different from the city of London and also the course I am on really enticed me when I read and experienced it at their open days. So from then on I decided to give it a go and I haven’t regretted it since!
I knew the opportunity to work overseas was an option but I never thought it was an option for me until I was accepted. Even then, money and funding would have always been a barrier for me personally but when I learnt about the Turing Scheme, I knew I had to give it a go. The skills in order for my personal growth as travelling the world is always something I’ve wanted to do and enhancing career prospects for my future.
Applying for the traineeship was something I had to be optimistic about. After many rejections from work experience positions in the UK, I almost gave up hope so applying for one overseas seemed like an impossible win. When I got accepted I was over the moon and I knew I couldn’t say no. I researched the country I would be staying in, Eswatini which is a small country close to South Africa, and I was very excited to start but also very nervous to be leaving home for three weeks. The job was a journalism intern at a local online Magazine called Inside Biz and I initially found it through a different internship scheme from an organisation called All Out Africa who were my hosts for accomodation and activities.
The Turing Scheme funding helped me a lot as I had to pay for the internship and it was very valuable money spent on a very valuable experience.
I spent 3 weeks in the wonderful country of Eswatini on a journalism internship for my multimedia journalism course at Inside Biz, arranged by All out Africa.
I will start the journey off with the day of my takeoff, I left my passport at home! I think all my nerves had gotten the better of me that afternoon, to the point where I had to turn back and practically sprint to my house to get it. But thankfully I made it to the airport in due time and I was all set to go. Saying goodbye to my family was the first milestone I overcame. This is my first time solo travelling but I knew that this experience was going to help me grow as a person and bring positive things to my future.
I landed in South Africa early in the morning and then began my drive to Eswatini. When I arrived that’s when everything became real. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t scared but I was also ready to get stuck in with what was ahead of me.
Simise, one of the All Out Africa staff member, met me in the morning and gave me a small but great tour of Mbabane. I got introduced to the Inside Biz team and they were all lovely people to work with and I have loved getting to know them. I also had the opportunity to visit the Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services and this the country’s radio station. We had a little tour and they even offered me some work experience that I had to kindly decline because of time.
The country was very friendly and accommodating. I did have to get used to the transportation and timing of things however I was warned about ‘Swazi timing’ by Simise so it was something I had to adjust to but it wasn’t a big issue during my time there.
I got started on my internship at Inside Biz the next day and the 3 weeks flew by. I got to do so many different things and put the skills I’m learning at university to good practice in a real life journalism setting. My favourite event had to be a dialogue event about an organisation called Women’s Unlimited who spoke about solutions that can be made to prevent gender based violence and sexual harassment in Higer educational institutions. It was nice to hear and cover how they were tackling this problem.
Inside Biz gave me a chance to write for their online magazine as well as their other magazine “Kulture” that focuses on lifestyle and culture around Eswatini. I’ve written features, event overviews, magazine promotion events and even gotten to do the one thing I am most passionate about right now, photography and my own content creation on the side. I loved seeing some of the economic initiatives the country had in store and also loved the great sense of community here through music events, art events, farmers markets and so much more.
In my free time over the weekends I had the chance to explore the country’s amazing landscape. When I first arrived in Eswatini I was stunned by how close I was to the mountainous views. I got to go to the Mantenga nature reserve and Swazi Cultural village arranged by Lucy and the All Out Africa team and it was so much fun experiencing a diverse and exciting culture.
I also celebrated my birthday during my time here and I got to do horseriding which is something I have always wanted to do as horses are my favourite animal. The two hour ride was peaceful and I got to experience being mere feet away from zebras without a glass barrier in front of me and I am very happy to have experienced that. Not only that but on my birthday I got three cakes, one from the all out staff, one from inside biz and one from Sinothemba, one of the Lidwala staff. They made me feel really special on my day when I thought I would feel alone, so I am forever grateful for the celebrations on my 20th birthday.
This traineeship helped me understand that different journalistic outlets all have different ways of writing and learning them can be challenging but not impossible. It developed my interview and research skills and gave me confidence to be afraid to create content in public. Being a multimedia journalism student made it a lot easier to adjust to this traineeship as I soon came to realise that all the practice we would do in lectures and workshops completely replicated to the real world so when it got to my last week, I could do the job with ease. In Eswatini they speak Siswati and English but it was only fair of me to learn a few words and phrases to get around. The language is definitely not an easy one but a few phrases were easy for me to understand and even speak so it wasn’t terrible. However if I were to go back, learning more words and phrases would be beneficial.
I won’t lie and say there weren’t challenges as I felt homesick quite a bit but calling home is nothing to be embarrassed about as I probably did it everyday. It helped me to remember that people were still thinking about me and waiting for me when I came back home.
This traineeship has been something that will alter my life forever. I say this in terms of being able to understand and respect different cultural perspectives allows me to be open and understanding to situations that can even come off as difficult. In addition, I am now able to understand different cultural mannerisms, for example in Eswatini everyone is very close and friendly so saying hello to someone on the street is a norm, whereas in the UK it’s less common. Regarding my future, I do believe that employers would see me as someone who is eager and ambitious to try new things. It also has encouraged me to want to travel in my free time even more, not only for employment but to be able to experience different cultures and see more of the world rather than staying in one place.
If I were to give advice to myself at the start of my experience knowing what I know now it would be, “ There’s something beyond this for you and everything happening now is happening for a reason.” This is because I know it doesn’t end here for me. I have made long lasting connections with people, not just professionally but also personally. My greatest achievement from this has been me not giving up even when I wanted to. The whole process of getting to Eswatini was challenging and didn’t feel real until I landed but I’m so happy I didn't give up.
Overall, I will definitely be going back home with loads of stories to tell my friends, family and lecturers at university. It has been an incredible experience and I’m glad I took that leap of faith to do it. If I were to recommend this experience to someone I definitely would. I would like to say a massive thank you to All Out Africa, Lidwala Lodge and Inside Biz x Kulture for all taking a chance on me when I needed it. Every single person that helped me will never be forgotten and will definitely be missed.
Written by: Hilda Najjumba - Photography and Videography intern
Feeling inspired? Contact us on bookings@alloutafrica.com for more information on our internships. You can first take a look at the relevant webpages (listed under "LEARN". Hilda undertook the internship in Photography and Videography internship
