Hellen Shikanda - Profile and Journalist Details

Beats

Biography

I am a print journalist mainly covering Health and Science stories. I always have been fascinated by crime stories, I still am, but during my post-campus training as a journalist, I read one book at the Graduate School of Media and Communications; Aga Khan University- The Gut, by Giulia Enders, and science became my go-to beat. Like Giulia Enders, I fancy telling complex stories in a simplistic manner. The process of breaking down science stories and making them relatable to my target audience and still having that flair of language is something I enjoy waking up to every day. I like language, and its flexibility. It is in language that I make people sad, or happy, or shift their mindset, but when there is change and lesson to take home, I feel like an archer who has hit their target at the first shot. In my country, print journalists have been christened -Meat Wrappers-, I proudly am one. Even with the digital disruption, my 'meat wrapping' profession will still live on. Besides writing as a journo, I write fiction, and I'd wish to write a book some day. I envy my mind when words start flowing from it. I am not there yet, I do not know where 'there' is, but, what I know for sure, is that I am on my way; there. If we bump on each other, I hope we learn from one another. The learning, as I have been told, never stops. This was supposed to be a biography, but didn't I warn you of my mind, when I start writing? Oh, writers, and breaking rules...

Content

Total articles 1002

• Why breast cancer remains a death sentence in Africa

  By Hellen Shikanda

  Apr. 16, 2025

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Company Info

Nation Media Group

Nation Media Group (NMG) is the largest independent media house in East and Central Africa, established in 1959 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Originally founded as East African Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd, NMG has grown into a multi-media organization with operations in print, broadcast, and digital media across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. NMG publishes several prominent newspapers, including the Daily Nation in Kenya, the Monitor in Uganda, and Mwananchi in Tanzania, which are among the most widely circulated in the region. The group also operates radio and television stations in Kenya, providing a mix of news, entertainment, and educational content. Additionally, NMG maintains a strong online presence with digital editions of its newspapers and various platforms that cater to a global audience. Committed to integrity and transparency, NMG aims to positively influence social, economic, and political progress through its journalism.