Mohammed, Citizen Journalist
About Mohammed
Mohammed is a citizen journalist as part of On Our Radar’s Citizen Journalist programme, a project supported by the Comic Relief and GSK partnership. At the age of three Mohammed contracted polio from playing in dirty water which left him disabled, and he also survived malaria multiple times throughout his childhood. He is determined to be a part of the fight to beat malaria in his country, and stop the next generation of children going through what he did.
"THE COMMUNITY IS A DISPOSAL SITE FOR ALL THE DRAINAGES THAT ARE COLLECTED UPTOWN. IT CAUSES A LOT OF MALARIA FOR PEOPLE - IT IS A BIG BREEDING SPOT FOR THE MALARIA PARASITE ITSELF."
MOHAMMED
Mohammed, along with 59 other young people across Sierra Leone, were chosen to join On Our Radar’s Citizen Journalists training programme. The aim of the programme is to train and support the group in finding and sharing powerful stories about how malaria affects the lives of people in their communities.
Mohammed sees the next generation of children playing in the same areas he was when he younger, and knows that this environment is a breeding ground for malaria. Mohammed says,
“I want to be the voice of the voiceless, reporting issues that are hidden in our community, showing people what it is really like”.
Having survived malaria himself, for Mohammed it’s important to tell people’s stories about the disease. He believes the major contributor to the problem is the lack of education on treatment, on preventive measures and how to take care of their communities. Mohammed believes sharing information, reporting and telling stories in the community about malaria will create a better community and a better world.