Ep 34: Fostering Safer Spaces with Ally Baharoon

TROUBLEMAKERS

What happens when we don’t just imagine a better world, but practice it right now?

Our host Monica Kamandau speaks with Ally, a creative writer, author-activist, and community organizer from Zanzibar about building truly inclusive communities.

Ally relates his experience with stuttering and how embracing his voice gave him a thirst for storytelling, organising, and helping others reclaim their power through words.

Key Ideas and Highlights

The power of the written word

Ally's stutter led him to discover creative writing as self-expression. His stories—fiction and nonfiction “slices of life”—blend humour and observation. They subvert traditional storytelling “beginning, middle, end” norms.

Building spaces for listening

Ally shares three common mistakes that silence people with speech differences—and how we can instead create supportive, humanizing environments.

Challenging the status quo

Fluency is often wrongly tied to intelligence or trustworthiness. Ally deconstructs this presumption. In civic spaces—especially during an election year—Ally calls for re-evaluating the harmful narratives that entrench social and political exclusion. Reassessing our blind spots helps us further democratize our societies.

Licensing

Anyone can use this podcast free of charge, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Credits

Host: Monica Kamandau

Guest: Ally Baharoon

Producer: Rodgers George

Recording: Troublemakers Team

Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum.