Faiza uses radio, social media to drive conversations that cause society change

Born 26 years ago in Bugoloobi, Kampala, Faiza Salima is a radio show host working with 93.3 KFM but also a popular figure on social media where she has made a mark as one of the best influencers.

Looking back at her life, Faiza, says growing up listening to radio shaped her career.

“For me I have always been a typical radio listener just like any other person who listens to radio. I have listened to radio from childhood to this day. I have always loved telling stories and radio is one way for me to connect to people,” she says.

She says her love for listening to radio grew so much that she decided to enter the industry as a presenter to enable her to share a piece of her love for radio and telling stories.

First try

The second last born in a family of six children says despite her love for radio and later presentation, it didn’t come easy initially because she had to gather herself to give it a try.

“For a long time I didn’t think I was cut out for radio and didn’t think I had got the voice for it,” she says.

She says when she gathered courage to give it a try, she contacted a friend who helped connect her to the programmes director of one of the radio stations in Kampala who in turn allowed her to volunteer at the radio as she learnt the basics.

However, it was not long before Faiza learnt the trade and started presenting on Record FM. She would later move on to XFM, another radio station in Kampala.

“At XFM I would say I was headhunted because I had first reached out to the programmes director and there was no slot for me. I was on his case for a long time but one time, I was approached to sit in for someone on morning show,” she says.

As they say, the rest is history. Faiza would later become household name on the Uganda radio scene and before she knew it, she was approached by KFM, another popular radio station to join their breakfast show.

Social media influencer

 Apart from presenting on radio, Faiza has also made a name as a social media influencer, a career she says started out for fun.

“Ideally social media influencing was for fun. I was working for a company that was hiring social media influencers to drive visibility for some of their campaigns and at the start I was a bit shocked to see that there are people paid to talk about something online. In my understanding, we are all social media users and it seemed crazy that there are people paid to do that. I was surely mesmerized by it,” she says.

She however says that what seemed funny later became a reality and she joined the frenzy of tweeting to drive visibility.

“When I started two years ago, it was to have fun and along the way, I started picking purpose to what I was doing and I have since grown as a social media influencer. Today I work with so many brands and make some good money from social media. It started as fun but now regard it as a career,” she says.

Purpose driven

Describing herself as being outspoken and creative, Faiza says having established herself as a radio presenter and social media influencer, she does all her work with the purpose of creating impact.

“I use radio to tell stories, connect people and drive society conversations that can impact change. For me, radio is more than just music, being a celebrity or presenting. It has to have a purpose and it is what I want to inspire other girls to do,” she says.

She says she is happy to mentor fellow girls and many other people in radio presenting, a task she adds she has started with many people, including friends and listeners calling her for inspiration and mentoring.

“In next five years I am not only looking at being more successful but also I want to be woman more grown in her career but above all making impactful change for young people in society. I want to drive so much growth,” Faiza says.

The 26-year-old who previously presented on Urban TV says she also wants to return to television presenting and writing to cement her career.

“I want to work for a big media organization across the continent but above all, I want to be a bigger version of myself,” she says.

Advice

Faiza also asks fellow youths to know who they are and what they want to be in life and this way, they can achieve their goals.

“Once you have that, you can then map out a clear plan on how to get there. Believe in yourself.  There is nothing that will help you achieve your dreams more than believing in yourself. Once you see that you are capable of making things happen, you will then embark on the plans to make them happen,” Faiza advises.

“Have an active plan. We can dream but once you don’t have an active plan of how to actualize the dreams you have, you are only wasting time and you won’t score your goals. Above all, do your part and then let God take on the part you can’t control. Let God steer the wheel and you will see magic happen.”