Week 11: Youth Booth

It is said that first impressions can make or break a friendship.

Luckily for Ajatum Mercy, her first impression of me was just an entertaining anecdote to our story.

What was it?

“Eh!  This Tara talks a lot.  The voice, eh!”

Let’s face it, my voice is loud and projects.  Thanks Mommy Matthews for this quality.  Now this is overwhelming to your Ugandan, who in my opinion whisper and is somehow heard from the opposite side of the room over the sounds of buzzing bodas and shrieking kids… The baby goat kind.

I first met this lovely lady at In Movement when I was preparing her for GirlTech back in July and she is fantastic.

16 years old.

Studying in S2.

Her favorite subject is biology.

Her family hails from the Ateso tribe in Eastern Uganda but she was born from Kampala.

Mercy’s favorite thing about Kampala is the freedom to put on anything.  This has been since the Anti-Pornography Bill was rescinded. 

She is the fourth born of five children, one boy and four girls.  Like many families in Uganda, her mother raised her, as the father was no longer alive.  Her mother works hard so that she is able to provide for all the needs in this world, like studies and school fees.  The second born went to Dubai last year to work so that she could work and send money back to Uganda to assist with rent and utilities.

It always amazes me how the Uganda youth provide for their families at such a young age.  Whereas in America most people do not think about assisting with such until we are settled and bringing in a steady income for ourselves.

If Mercy could pick a different name for herself it would be Braxton because it sounds nice. 

When she finishes her schooling she wants to be a journalist because she enjoys discovering things around the world.  One of her favorite activities is reading newspapers and watching the news to keep up with the rest of the world.

Her favorite journalist is a man named Denzer who works at Urban, a television network that documents Ugandan news.

Mercy’s favorite spot in Uganda is on Kalangala Island on Lake Victoria because one is able to receive the fresh air from the water and trees that surround the area.  In the heart of the concrete, capital city, we often forget the beauty and environment that surround us.

One thing Mercy wants to change about the world would be to change Africa’s name to The United States of Africa… The USA!  She would also want one president to have power.

Her favorite possessions are the pictures of her father.  He died a long time ago and her mom gave pictures to all the children to see what he looked like.  This is Mercy’s favorite thing to look at when she is feeling sad or down.

With 1,000,000 shillings she would buy the essentials of a good phone, shoes, and car.  She would then give some to her siblings and mom to help with the utilities.  The rest she would use to see the world and travel.

Mercy’s words to the youth… “Always pray to God because in everything you do, God is the first.”

One of the lessons she learned from her involvement at In Movement has been that cooperation is important because you can easily identify what another person is feeling or can read them.

Recently I had to conduct interviews with my youth about the upcoming camps and one question was if you had the choice to learn one thing in your life, what would you want to learn.

Marcy’s answer was definitely one of my favorites.

“I want to learn how to drive a ship.  This way I can travel over oceans an seas to meet different kinds of people and learn about them and their culture.”

Well Mercy.  Go get your ship. 

I’ll be patiently waiting.