By Leila Parina
As a Journalism student at the University of South Pacific, I am delighted to be a part of the NextGenRadio project.
Unlike the other student reporters I was not based in Fiji as I had left school to travel to Papua New Guinea for the summer break. I had limited resources and the internet is worse off than in Fiji.
It took some time to settle down and really think about what I needed to do for the project. I had even thought of pulling out from the project but a little voice inside my head said to keep going.
Before the project I connected with Traci and Thomas (my mentor) who encouraged me to take on the challenge of reporting from rural PNG with the limited resources that I have. And I had to go through several sources before settling on my final interviewee whose story was deeply moving and caused a few tears to be shed.
I worked closely with Thomas (my mentor), Traci, and Selena (sound tech producer) to produce a lovely audio piece.
My experience working with them was great as they had taught me new things that I’m sure to use from now on. I worked hard especially on Tuesday and Wednesday of the project week.
After all that work I got sick on the third night of the project and couldn’t participate on the fourth day (Thursday PNG/Fiji time). I was very ill and had to go to the hospital. I missed out on writing my editorial piece and completing my photo captions which I’m a bit disappointed by but I am thankful to Thomas, my amazing mentor who was able to finish up the project for me.
At the end of it all, I am delighted with the outcome of the project. I am also thankful to everyone involved. The experience itself has been very rewarding and I am thankful to that little voice inside my head that told me I could do it, and that none of those doubts mattered because I had a patient, talented, and understanding team that helped me every step of the way. Thank you NextGenRadio!
