Ugandan journalist takes career to ‘an amazing level’ as IWMF Neuffer Fellow

By Lindsey Wray, first published on IWMF website, 13 April 2012

Never mind being on deadline at The New York Times.

Jackee Budesta Batanda was worried about navigating New York’s subway.

An interview at City Hall had her wondering as much about the intricacies of public transportation as what her interviewees might say.

“I hardly slept that night,” she wrote, recounting the experience.

But the next day, Batanda, a Ugandan journalist who was the 2011-2012 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, arrived a full hour early after successfully conquering the subway. She reported and wrote an article for The Times about New Yorkers being restricted from a City Hall statue.

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Recognising Women of Courage

L-R: Parisa Hafezi from Iran, Chiranuch Premchaiporn from Thailand, Adela Navarro Bello from Mexico and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Katie Adie from UK at the Courage in Journalism Awards ceremony on 27 October 2011(Photo image: IWMF)

The Courage in Journalism Awards were in a couple of hours. Rosie and I got dressed to go to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. It was raining so I wore pants instead of the skirt I had  planned to wear. I took out my Kenneth Cole shoes, a good find in a thrift store, where I had gone to buy sweaters and couldn’t resist adding the shoes to my shopping cart.  We thought that we would make it on time. We got out and ran into Grand Central Station. Rosie was running ahead of me. I could not keep up. The Kenneth Cole shoes were not made for fast running and the Dr Scholl in-sole padding I bought for the heels are actually bogus. I felt my feet getting sore.  Note to self: don’t buy additional in-sole whatever stuff they advertise on TV.