Click to read in French Nyasha Melissa Chisoko remembers the moment her first sale came through. She was in her small apartment in Johannesburg, nursing her newborn and watching online pre-orders trickle in for the very first time. “I cried,” she says. “Not because it was a huge amount of money, but because someone believed…
“I do not just make clothes, I create East African stories. Every fabric I use has crossed a border, carrying culture, craft, and connection,” she remarks as she receives a shipment of earthy Ugandan bark cloth just hours after the arrival of a consignment of vibrant Tanzanian khanga fabrics. Mary Wamboi, a designer with…
In a continent where borders often define limitations, a new generation of African content creators is challenging these constraints, weaving narratives that transcend lines on a map. One of them is Nigerian travel storyteller Esther Okorougo, whose bold lens and heartfelt narratives are carving a space for African women to imagine mobility differently. Her…
On the slopes of Mount Elgon, where Uganda borders Kenya, bamboo forests nurture an indigenous delicacy known as Malewa—a smoky, earthy dish made from dried bamboo shoots. Once a ritual food of the Bagisu people, Malewa has transformed into a cultural ambassador, crossing borders and gaining popularity across East Africa and beyond. Its…
Faith’s hands are calloused, her nails stained with soil and ore. But when she smiles, there’s something golden about it, something earned. Each scar on her fingers tells a story: not just of digging for survival, but of learning, adapting, and rising. A few years ago, she crossed into Zimbabwe from Mozambique with nothing…
Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang’ Ny’ong’o (in suit) and Mr Godfrey Emoja, the Managing Director of Talent Industry Limited (far left), alongside other participants during the 2024 Poetic Hour Battle in Kisumu, Kenya. Photo Credit: Courtesy. Finding Her Voice, Crossing Borders “Art chose me, and in art I found myself,” says Ugandan poet Destiny Gladys,…
Click to read in French By 6:00 AM, the black market in Nakonde is already alive. Footsteps pound the dusty ground, traders shout out their best deals, and shop shutters rattle open in rhythmic unison. It’s the sound of a border town in motion, and at the heart of it are the women crossing from…
Click to read in French It was a moment that would forever change her life. Sitting with her sibling who had recently moved to Côte d’Ivoire, she listened intently as they shared stories of opportunity, growth, and new beginnings. “It was never in my thoughts that I would ever go to Côte d’Ivoire until one…
Jennifer Nagut from Maero village in Uganda displays the bananas at her stall in Busia, Kenya. She is among several Ugandan women who cross the border every day to sell nutritious foodstuffs to Kenya/Photo by Faith Matete It is dawn, and the flickers of the weak morning sun are illuminating the skies of…
The concept of free movement of people within Africa, promoted by the African Union (AU), aims to facilitate the unrestricted movement of people and goods across borders, fostering regional integration, trade, and economic growth. Uganda’s long-standing support for regional integration, including its backing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has made it…
By: Mmeeme Leticia In Uganda’s northwestern city of Arua, a good Sunday best must always be accompanied by a touch of African print, locally known as Kitenge. The multicolored fabric, rumored to be owned by each of its more than 360,000 population. For a long time, Arua has been a melting point of cultures because…
By Habeebat Ajayi The Heartbeat of Idiroko The Border Area between Nigeria and Cotonou At the buzzing frontier town of Idiroko, located in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, commerce flows with an intensity that mirrors the unyielding spirit of the women who drive it. Positioned strategically along Nigeria’s border with the Benin…
