This week’s youth has
become a familiar face among In Movement and I am so stoked that he has made
this place his second home.
Twinomujuni Ivan was an
active participant in the Youth Leadership Summit I organized and since its
completion, I have continued to see growth in him… From his confidence in the
dance studio to his teamwork with others.
As one of my youth leaders, he continues to provide workshops to other
youth and pave a bright way forward for others.
Ivan is 16 years old and
studies in Secondary 3 but is about to undergo examinations to advance to
Secondary 4, the last class in ordinary level, in February.
Ivan is from Kabale, which
happens to be my favorite place in Uganda due to its cool weather and being
home to Lake Bunyonyi. I wish I had more
time in Uganda because I would love to take Ivan to the lake, as he has never
been. He has been to the Mufumbiro
Mountains though, which I have heard are a sight to see.
He identifies as a Mukiga,
belonging to the Rukiga tribe, which is the language I learned during
Pre-Service Training. It has been great
communicating to him using the local dialect.
His mom and dad are still
married and live together in Kampala with their five children. Ivan is third born among his one sister and
three brothers. The family stays in a
one-room place where the bedroom, kitchen, and living room are all
together. There is one triple bunk bed
for the kids to share and across the way is the parents’ bed.
His favorite subject is
literature as he enjoys reading. One day
he hopes to be a writer and even continue on to graduate school to study law to
make things right in the world.
One word Ivan would use to
describe himself would be willing. “I am
willing to learn everyday. Even every
hour.”
When I asked him what he
would do with 1,000,000 Ugandan Shillings he said, “That is big money. I would first open a bank account and put the
money in there and begin planning little by little. I would make it a savings account so that the
bank tops up (interest) each month. I
would be making some money and I could then open one or two businesses.”
According to Ivan, the
best part about living in Uganda is, “As Ugandans we share things. If you do not get something to eat for today
and someone else has, they call you and say ‘Come and share with us.’ Even if they only have a little, they will
provide for others. We share our land
and our houses… If you do not have a place to sleep, someone will have for you.”
Starting today, if Ivan
could only eat one meal it would be anything with chapati, which is like a
thick tortilla. It would add an omelette
with vegetables to make it a rolex or chop it up with some beans to make
kikomando.
His favorite spot in
Uganda is In Movement. His first time to
the space was in 2009 and while he was excited to see other youth engaging in
activities, he did not know what was going on and left. Five years later he returned to the space for
practice and to become part of a community and family that he knew would
welcome him with open arms.
One thing he wishes he
could change about Uganda are bad peer groups.
“Like in Kampala I would like to change the thing of peer group
association leading to taking alcohol and marijuana. This leads to drug abuse and then sometimes
the youth in the group become thieves.
Plus the security is not enough and that can also be changed.”
Ivan had a lot to
communicate to the youth of the world… “Find out who you are. What are your strengths and your weaknesses? Love your friends. Do not give into peer
pressure and do things to simply fit in.
What you may try at 15 years could turn into a habit at 23 years. If you have the opportunity to study, stay in
school. When you reach the adolescent
stage, you start to love to learn things and if the nearest things you see are
bad, such as stealing, bullying, or fighting, then you might become apart of
something you regret later.”
I am so excited to have
Ivan join me at Camp BUILD in December with Edgar,
Eric, Fahadhi, Frank,
Hamuza,
the other Ivan, Jeff,
and Philip.
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