During her time in secondary school, Hellen Auma Wandera had this dream while sleeping and she quickly dismissed it because anyway, it was just a dream.
However, a few years later, the same exact dream would appear again when she was on campus and she knew she had to pay attention.
In both dreams, Auma said God clearly directed her to be a leader. Speaking to Daily Monitor, the young woman attributed this divine dream to her decision to contest as a woman MP for Busia, to make life better for her people.
“Just How I Desired” Though it was not an easy journey, the 23-year-old believed in herself and started door to door campaigns with the help of boda-boda riders and she was able to trounce the primaries to earn the support of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
“After I was declared winner, Sharon Nabwire (her closest competitor) said it was a mistake and demanded a recount which I still won,” Auma said.
On the January 14, 2021, election, she emerged the winner for the Busia woman MP seat and her resilience caught the eye of President Yoweri Museveni.
“Because I was not married, most of my opponents used that against me but I won with a big margin,” she said.
Fish vendor Perhaps, as she was taking her oath of office on Monday, May 17, 2021, that moment meant the world to her as it gave credence to Lupita Nyong’o’s famous quote, dreams are valid.
“Best Unforgettable Moment” This is because she comes from a humble background and life did not give her what she has today on a silver platter.
She recalled all her siblings depended on her father’s small salary for their needs and so she had to start vending items such as clothes and fish to make an extra income to keep her afloat in school.
“I had to plough people’s gardens to raise additional money to contribute to school fees for myself. I began vending tomatoes in my Senior Two holidays which first got me good profit. Out of that, I later got a small stall and started dealing in other items such as vegetables,” the MP said.
When she got into Kyambogo University for her undergraduate studies, she decided to engage in a fish-selling business so that she could make extra money to cater for accommodation.
Her mother would send her fish from home and she would deep-fry it and sell it to her classmates.
She stopped the business in 2019 just months before her graduation and when she was completed school, she went back to her home district where she started her campaigns.
When asked whether she is married, Auma said she is, at the moment, focused on helping the people of Busia.
