Brenna Daldorph: “For freelancers like me, it is particularly challenging to be able to finance a reporting trip, especially to a conflict-zone like CAR. And if you do manage to swing it, you often end up reporting the story you can sell and not necessarily the story you feel like needs to be told. With this fellowship, we were able to really follow our hearts into the field. The IWMF trusted us and let us transform the stories and angles we were pursuing as we reported. The team bent over backwards to help us get where we needed to be and to spend time with the people we were writing about. They also offered invaluable support when we wanted to report from high-risk environments– I was able to go places that would have been no-go areas had I been alone. In short, the IWMF provides that support that you’ve been dreaming of when you are alone in the field, hauling your camera bag or microphone, stressing about whether this trip is going to be financially viable and trying to make sure the situation stays under control. The IWMF mitigates those stresses and let you focus on the stories you want to tell and the people you want to meet. It’s a pretty sweet deal. ”

#IWMFfellows were on the ground in the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2016. Follow their adventures and apply to become a fellow TODAY at www.iwmf.org