Farid Omar
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Nearly three years ago, Hodan Nalayeh, travelled to Dadaab Refugee Camp during the height of the Somali famine as a volunteer advocate. It was during that trip she saw firsthand the crisis facing Somali people, in Somalia and the Diaspora. Nalayeh made a commitment to work on being a voice for the voiceless. Equipped with her media background, she left her corporate job to start her own media production company, Cultural Integration Agency.
Considering the amount of negative news about Somalis worldwide, Nalayeh says she is creating television programming that spreads positive news about Somalis, including their culture, religion and achievements. She says, “I want young people to gain pride for being Somali and restore our dignity no matter where we live - Somali stories told by Somali people.”
Nalayeh succeeded earlier this month by getting her first Somali Television program in English transmitted on CITYTV, a major network in Toronto along with Co-Executive Producer, Cameraworks Productions International, a full-service and fully-equipped television and video production facility led by Broadcast Engineer and Media Production Specialist, Reddy Sampath. The partners secured a twenty-six episode deal to broadcast stories about Somali Canadians. Integration: Building a New Cultural Identity is the first fully HD program in community programming in Canada. The quality in production can be seen right away as viewers are impressed with the HD content and production of advertising commercials.
The viewers are told every week Integration: Building a New Cultural Identity will bridge the gap for young Somalis by taking the best of both worlds, the old and the new society they live in now. Along with a talk show style segment, viewers see profiles of successful Somalis in the Diaspora and a weekly religious message from prominent figure Sheikh Said Rageah. Impressively, key political and mainstream figures can also be seen sitting down for an interview with Nalayeh.
“We are refugees everywhere in the world since the collapse of Somalia, but we have done very well despite the circumstances and the world needs to know that.”
The show has gained popularity among mainstream audiences also. Nalayeh says, “I want to discuss issues that matter. My goal is to build value for our community and educate Canadians on who Somalis are. Watching the media constantly tell negative stories about Somalis worldwide caused a pain in my stomach and I could no longer ignore it.”
Nalayeh’s next goal is to continue the program on air in Toronto and expand to other markets. She is seeking private investors, corporate donors and advertising revenue from government agencies and private sector to continue broadcasting past the twenty-six episodes. “Somalis deserve quality, informative programs that enhance their lives and I am looking forward to growing our programming to even assist the Somali government in telling good news from inside that country,” says Nalayeh.
Let the good news continue as this program takes Somali TV to the next level.
www.integrationtv.com
Farid Omar is freelance writer who resides in Toronto, Canada.