Week 12: Youth Booth

This week’s youth comes from my favorite tribe - the Northern Acholi!

For those that now about the background of Ugandan surnames, you can tell by this lovely youth of mine that she is not only an Acholi but also a twin.

Friends and family, meet Miss Apio Sharon.

Or Sharon.

Or Apio.

She is 14 years and studies in secondary 1.

Originally from Gulu, she now stays with her mom and four siblings in Kampala while her Dad works in South Sudan.  She is second born with her fraternal twin following her.

In many of the tribes in Uganda, the surnames given to twins are paired together.   For example Apio, the first-born twin, and Acen, the second born twin.

Sharon and her family moved to Kampala whens she was a young girl in order for the children to be given greater opportunities to study.

Her role model is a Ugandan woman by the name of Sylvia Owori because she is a fashion designer and this is something Sharon has hopes of one day pursuing.  She also includes Shafique, a Ugandan dance instructor, and Davis, one of the In Movement dance facilitators, and they have both helped her strengthen her dancing abilities.

This next part practically brought me to tears… Might be that I just watched The Fault in Our Stars or that she beautifully articulated her words.

Tara: “Hey Sharon.  What is your greatest possession?”

Blank stare of confusion.

Tara: “Like something you have in your house that you like a lot.  It could be a toy, a book…”

Sharon: “Oh okay.  I know.  It is my parents but mostly my mom.  She has shown love and how to care for myself until I could.  But she still shows love.”

Her favorite part about living in Kampala is that the place is full of fun and on special days, like Christmas and Easter, they can travel to special places, like the many beaches of Lake Victoria.

Sharon’s favorite subjects in school are history and CRE, which stands for Christian Religious Studies.

Upon finishing University she hopes to start up her own shop where she will sell everything related to fashion and design.  She also hopes to become a dance teacher because, “…when you are dancing it is easy to express the way you are feeling.  Choreography can be about many things… Happiness, women, life, etc and it helps express everything in you.”

Her favorite color is pink because it is bright.

If she had to eat the same meal starting today she’d choose rice and beans.

She would like to travel to Brazil because she has heard of them having a lot of freedom, a lot of beaches, and she believes that the people are friendly and would welcome her to their country.

During her time between laundry and school, she enjoys dancing and creating art pieces. 

As one of our beloved alumni from the In Movement program she shared with me some of the lessons she learned. 

“When you are choreographing a dance or drama or anything, there needs to be cooperation, teamwork, and confidence.  Everyone has to be able to negotiate with the others in order for it to work.  Also about leadership and that even when you are teaching, you do not have to be the main person.  You want to empower the others to take lead and often times you do not need to be in the front to do that.”

Finally, Miss Sharon’s words to the youth of the world…

“Everyone in this world has a reason as to why they were created and if anyone has a talent, I encourage them to let it out and show the world so that he or she is also known for something.  Also so that he or she can empower and encourage the other youth to also show off their talents.”