Every year, thousands of students showcase their creativity and storytelling skills by competing in NPR’s Annual Student Podcast Challenge. Among them, ten-year-old Ameya Desai of San Jose stood out. Her podcast, Far From Home: A Story of Forced Migration, captured the hearts of listeners, winning first place in the fourth-grade category in August of 2024. Her piece tells the powerful story of her grandfather’s forced expulsion from Uganda in the 1970s under dictator Idi Amin—a history deeply personal yet still quite relevant.
The Inspiration Behind the Podcast
Ameya’s journey with storytelling started long before she sat down to record Far From Home. In 2023, she won first place in the San Jose Writing Contest for her piece Sugarcane Fields on My Mind, which explored her grandfather’s experience of exile. That story was just the beginning. When a discussion about war in the Middle East erupted among her classmates, it triggered a deeper reflection in Ameya about migration, conflict, and displacement. She realized that many of her peers had family members who had been forced to leave their homes because of war, persecution, or political turmoil. That’s when she decided to interview her grandfather for her NPR-winning podcast. Through the process of recording her podcast, she continued to talk to him and learn even more about his story of displacement.
“This was more than a story about me learning about my family history,” Ameya wrote in an email interview. “I wanted to tie my grandfather’s story of being one of many South Asians exiled from Uganda to the current conflicts we see in the world. There are millions of people around the world forced to leave their homes.”
Finding Her Voice Through Storytelling
For Ameya, interviewing her grandfather wasn’t just about gathering facts—it was about uncovering emotions, resilience, and legacy. Through their conversations, she began to understand the depth of what her grandfather had endured and how those experiences shaped her family’s identity.
“My grandfather gave me a complete account of his experience, and he had never done that before,” she said. “My dad had grown up only hearing snippets of the story. But, during the recording, he also learned so many new things. For example, he found out my grandfather was stateless and had to forgo his Ugandan citizenship. I felt like an unshakeable bond developed between three generations.”
The process of creating the podcast was also as transformative for Ameya as the story itself, reshaping how she saw herself.
“I always used to think that I was from India and nowhere else,” Ameya said. “But now I realize that part of my family history is connected to East Africa. Winning this challenge was an unexpected honor, but the most meaningful part was knowing my grandfather’s story is now on record. It cements his legacy.”
The Power of Preserving Stories
At the heart of Far From Home is a theme that resonates across generations: forced migration. Ameya’s podcast does more than recount a historical event; it humanizes displacement, making the listener feel the loss, resilience, and hope intertwined in her grandfather’s story.
“I hope listeners realize how important these human stories are and that they try to preserve them. These events are not in history books, and they’re not taught in schools,” she said. “The older generation that holds these memories won’t be around forever, so there is an urgency to share them widely.”
A Listener’s Perspective
Far From Home made me reflect on the importance of preserving personal histories. What struck me the most was not just the historical significance of Ameya’s grandfather’s story, but the way she was able to capture its emotional depth. For instance, in the podcast, her grandfather reminisces about his childhood in Uganda, saying, “We used to play a lot of sports by the side of sugarcane fields. And anytime one was hungry or thirsty, we just broke a sugarcane and chewed on it for an instant sugar rush.” This vivid memory highlights his deep-rooted connection to his homeland, despite being forced to leave it. Ameya’s ability to connect past events to ongoing global issues shows a high level of maturity. Her work is a reminder that these narratives are precious, and recording them ensures that they live on.
What’s Next for Ameya?
Winning NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge hasn’t slowed Ameya down. She’s already working on the next episode of her podcast, which explores another community’s story of displacement and loss. Her motivation? The hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.
“So many people are losing their homes because of conflicts caused by political leaders who aren’t thinking about the most vulnerable,” she said. “Many, like my grandfather, are unable to return to their homeland through no fault of their own. I want to keep telling these stories so we can learn from them.”
From this journey, Ameya has discovered the power of storytelling—not just in preserving history, but in bringing people closer together. After listening to her podcast, I realized how personal histories shape our understanding of the world. It’s easy to think of migration and displacement as distant issues, but Ameya’s story reminds us that they affect real people, often within our own communities. By sharing her grandfather’s experiences, she’s ensuring these stories continue to be heard.