What started out as a venture to bring awareness to women’s rights and highlighting their talents has evolved into a diverse discourse on topical issues, using social and conventional media to reach its target audience.
‘Get Real with Shameeza’ is the brainchild of US-based Guyanese Shameeza Ally, who is enthusiastic about what Season Three holds as an exciting line-up of guests are waiting to share their stories, with the hope of inspiring and creating real change.
Season Three is set to premiere on Wednesday (February 2) from 20:00h on the ‘Get Real with Shameeza’ Facebook page, YouTube, Island Zone Radio and NTN Channel 18/Cable 69 in Guyana.
Shameeza, originally from West Coast Demerara, has spent the last 16 years working in financing at the Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and HSBC US while raising four children.
The only daughter for her parents, Shameeza got married at the age of 15 and subsequently advanced her education in the US, which led to her current job.
Even while balancing her personal and professional life, she saw the need to provide a platform for other women to not only bring awareness to issues that affect them, but also create an avenue for those concerns to be addressed.
“I started sharing my personal journey/story on social media about a year ago and I saw a need for others to tell their story, so I decided to provide a platform where we can share stories that will inspire others,” she told News Room in an exclusive interview.
“The initial intent was to just share stories of regular people, especially women and showcase talents in the community, but the response from the community was outstanding.”
“And suddenly we started having doctors, ministers, attorneys, women entrepreneurs, world-class cricketers, musicians like Ravi B, KI, GI, Terry Gajraj, Steven Ramphal, Vanita Willie and Savita Singh coming on the show. The support has been amazing.”
The new direction that the show has taken is one that Shameeza is enthused about, as it allows her to touch more lives, thereby creating a bigger impact through her emerging platform.
“Some of the success stories for me have been having members of the LBGQT speak up about who they are and what it’s like living in the community, having an immigration attorney that was able to provide service by dedicating a day to our viewers for complimentary consultations and having a girl telling her story and soon after she published her book and started her organisation,” she highlighted.
Season Three is expected to zero-in on various topics of interest, including Bullying, Mental Health, Suicide, Domestic Violence and Financial Literacy.
Looking beyond Season Three, Shameeza said the plan is to expand to other communities once the support continues to flow.
“It will be a blessing to continue to inspire, enlighten and bring awareness to others. However, I need the support of our community. As long as I have that, there’s no stopping.”
One of the significant outcomes of the ‘Get Real with Shameeza’ show has been the establishment of ‘SafAri for Hope’, an organisation that provides assistance to battered women and young girls.
