24-year-old YouTuber, Foday Issa Kamara, Popular known as Issadin k on YouTube and other social media platforms, Foday Issadin Kamara is a Sierra Leone YouTuber born on 28 February 1999 in Bo city. He, like very few other Sierra Leoneans living in a country where internet connection is very slow and expensive, embarks on a Journey to show the positive image of his country through his Youtube Channel Issadin K.
When Issadin K relocated to Freetown from Bo to further his education, trying to survive, he worked as a waiter at the Chicken Town restaurant briefly. “When I reloved to Freetown to further my education, It was challenging for me, I had to work at a restaurant as a waiter to be able to get some money to support my education,” he told Salone Messenger.
Read also: S/L YouTube Star Issadin K Shortlisted for Vickie Remoe Prize
Issadin k is a BSC Computer Science graduate from Njala University Freetown campus with an experience in student leadership from Secondary school, He served as Head boy during his school days at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Senior Secondary School Bo and Assembly perfect at Ahmadiyya Senior School Freetown. He has had over 5 (five) years of volunteer and professional work experience, mostly based in the digital and technological area
Issadin K is among the winners of the Vickie Remoe prize, The Vickie Remoe Prize highlights emerging journalists and new media content creators for excellence, originality, and creativity. The Vickie Remoe Prize Board selects winners. Winners will be announced every year in April.
At Salone Messenger. We had an online interview with him during his visit to Makeniwhere he shot a video one of the most beautiful shopping mall in Sierra Leone
Tell us about your vlogging and what is your interest area?
‘’I make Inspiration, documentaries, and Creative videos on YouTube mostly about my country, I intend to show the positive side of my country which is mostly not seen or recognized, I want to be fair to our nation by showing the other side of the coin, that’s the positive side. We are mostly bent on crying our nation down forgetting that there are things we should also be grateful for and things that we have to improve on ourselves, my channel tells the stories that make us proud as a people, and I believe this will inspire people from other nations, and might even make them want to join us build the Sierra Leone we are all dreaming about. I make my videos in the form of vlogging.
Making YouTube videos is something I enjoy doing, despite the fact that I do not have all the equipment needed but that does not stop me from pushing forward, because it is something I love doing, I would rather lend the materials just to make sure I keep uploading videos. I opened my YouTube channel in 2018 but could not upload any content that year, because I had nothing to start with, in 2019 I bought a used phone called “Honor 8 light” which had a good camera. The quality of the camera was impressive when I made a video at Leicester peak which turned out to be my very first official YouTube video, since then that android phone has recorded over 30 videos, which gave birth to Issadin K.’’
What inspired you to do vlogging?
‘’I was inspired by nature, the very first time I went up to Leicester peak pic when I show the whole of Freetown from one point, and the very first time I saw the bombona waterfall. That has always driven me to make YouTube videos. Seeing the beautiful things in this country, and knowing that people have less interest in showcasing its beauty and more interest in crying it down, drove me to employ myself in presenting the goodness and blessing of our nation. For me, the beauty and forgotten quality of this nation inspired me to do more vlogging.’’
Tell us about your favorite vlog video among all and why?
My favorite vlog is titled “This nation is blessed”. I love this vlog because it tells a whole lot of what I am trying to achieve. That is making the people realize that our nation’s progress is not in the hands of no one else other than us the citizens.
What are some of the challenges you are faced with?
‘’One of the biggest challenges is less equipment that includes internet access, till now I am lending cameras and a mic to make videos, luckily, 2 of my fans helped me with a laptop and a drone which has really reduced the pressure of the work. Another challenge is transportation to get to some location to do the video, like traveling from one district to another. I have to raise some money from my per-term jobs and fund the movement. Which also slows down the workflow sometimes. But I believe we will overcome all of this.’’
What would be your message to young Sierra Leoneans who want to be a vlogger?
‘’To every young Sierra Leonean who want to be a vlogger, you must first fall in love with what you do, you must believe in what you are doing more than anyone else, you must not let anyone define your limit because of where you came from, it not going to be easy but I tell you if we keep pushing if we keep trying we shall surely get there, whatever we want to achieve by God’s grace we will succeed. And don’t forget to always pray and thank God for everything.’
