Our Story

It all began like a fairy tale when two young creatives, one a media expert and the other a singer, met and pooled their skills, talents, and resources to contribute their efforts in fighting against all social norms that hinder the prosperity of gender equality. It was at this time that these youths, namely Elias Maeda and Emmanuela Kiluma, felt the need to fight for girls’ and young women’s rights when both of them saw their young sisters married to old men of their fathers’ age, which denied their right to dream. They both know firsthand how devastating this experience is and how it highly affects not only girls’ rights to education but also their freedom to choose.

In 2019, the two produced their debut joint work, Hellena. It is a short film that narrates the story of a young girl whose dream of becoming a pilot is denied when she is forced to be married to a man of her father’s age. After the film’s successful premiere, the two young creatives saw the need to formalize their work, which is when Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA) was founded.