Award-Winning Journalist | TV & Radio Presenter | Social Entrepreneur
I am Maltiti Sayida Sadick, a 29-year-old professionally trained award-winning journalist, TV and Radio Presenter with 5 plus years of experience in Broadcast Media and a Social Entrepreneur, I am a founder a charity organization ‘Maltiti Care International’ (MCI) where my team identifies women in rural Northern Ghana who develop ‘fistula’ health conditions in the process of childbirth, to sensitize them, seek for available free reconstructive surgeries and raise funds to empower them. I was born in Tamale in the Northern region of Ghana, after losing my mother at the age of 6 my father who is a mechanical engineer single handedly raised me, my little brother and three sisters all by himself. It was tough, as he tried to make ends meet after we were thrown out of our rented apartment and had to move into my parents' uncompleted house which our father fixed little by little while trying to make it feel like home. My father is the biggest feminist I know, he championed getting us the best education and following our dreams, mine to be a journalist. Moving to the second largest city in Ghana Kumasi, for senior high school was tough as well, I was the first in the family to travel out of the North for school due to my excellent grades but the fact that home was so far and the culture was different was challenging but rewarding in the end as it positioned me well to acquire higher education into the Ghana Institute of Journalism.
My Journalism journey began with my national service at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in Tamale and then to a restaurant after I was not retained to work at my place of posting. Working at the restaurant tested my leadership skills working as a supervisor, it also broadened my network as I kept meeting a lot of influential people who saw potential in me. I left the restaurant after a year to intern at a new Tv station in Tamale called ‘Sagani Tv, a local language TV station. I proved myself capable after some trials and became the news producer and deputy news editor. The challenges with this job were colleagues feeling that I was too young, or a woman or too strict with abidance of media ethics in all we do. It was part of the team that spearheaded the start of its live news in the ‘Dagbanli’ language and started the midday news as well which I produced and anchored in English language. It was during my two year stay there I was awarded in the maiden Ghana Journalists Association awards as ‘young promising journalist”. While in Tamale in 2019 I was selected among about 60 young Ghanaians to go to the United States as a ‘Mandela Washington Fellow’ which unfortunately didn’t happen due to covid-19 and which had to be done virtually in 2021.
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
My biggest hurdle was when I left ‘Sagani Tv’ after two years to contest for GHOne Tv’s maiden reality show in 2021 ‘The Next TV Star’ among hundreds of young people who turned up for the auditions, nerve wrecking and unnerving I went on to be selected into the final sixteen and being unique as a hijab wearing aspiring Tv presenter having my community solidly behind me, and through hard work went on to win the 1st runner up position. I worked with EIB Network as the prize package after the reality show for a year and it was then I started my sports news journey, this was a big risk as my former Tv station was not happy to lose me and wanted asked that I do not return should I be kicked out of the competition at any stage. It taught me resilience and bravery to go after what I dream for myself which my father had kept telling us from a young age. This risk taking landed me where I am today after The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation poached me from GHOne Tv to join the Breakfast show as a co-host to read the news and sports news updates as well host interviews with resource persons and cover feature stories for the show. This I saw elevated my career being a Muslim wearing hijab as a Tv Presenter, one of the first and among a few on Ghanaian national Television, representing a minority group that battles with inclusion of the obvious thus their identity as Muslims and how they uphold modesty in clothing. I have not regretted these decisions till date.
Your advice to upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally?
‘With patience a full piece of cloth will fit into a bottle’ is my father’s favorite saying, I aim to be a formidable global brand that is unique and endearing to young women in a quest to increase the number of young Muslim women and rural girls in daring positions changing the status quo and getting a seat at the leadership table. I am who I am today because of the great Father I have who put his children above all else to see them prosper and doing it single handedly after losing our mother. This goes to show that it doesn’t matter where you come from, if you put your mind to something, go on, fight tooth and nail and you will get there, you surely will.
My prayer and hope is to be able to make my hero dad comfortable in his old age and for God to bless him abundantly for his sacrifices.
Social Media Handles:
Instagram : @maltitiofficial
Twitter: @maltitiofficial
Facebook: @Sayida Maltiti Sadick