Hellen Auma Wandera was elected into the 11th Parliament as the MP representing Busia District in Uganda.
According to reports, she took her oath of office on May 18, 2021, amid frenzy jubilation.
She defeated the influential opposition candidate, Sharon Nabwire to become a lawmaker in the Eastern African country’s legislature.
Wandera was born on December 12, 1997, and will be attaining age 24 in December.
Reports say she was a student-entrepreneur who sold fish on campus to her friends. She also plied her trade in the Banda market while at Kyambogo University to finance her education.
She enrolled at Kyambogo University in 2016, where she graduated with a Bachelors’ Degree in Arts and Social Science in 2019.
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She won the parliamentary seat under the governing National Resistance Movement (NRM) party in Busia District, eastern Uganda.
It is reported that Wandera’s parents went through a lot of trouble to put food on the table and take care of their needs, but she refused to give up on her dreams.
The young woman resorted to plowing people’s gardens to earn extra cash to help pay her school fees as the fish business was not fetching enough income.
She abandoned her fish vending job and went back to Busia where she hails from and started campaigning to represent her people.
She told Daily Monitor that her decision to join politics was a result of a divine dream she had been experiencing while in school.
The young lady started door-to-door campaigns with the help of boda-boda riders and managed to win the primaries of the National Resistance Movement.
After her victory, Wandera who could not hide her joy said the journey has not been easy.
“After I was declared winner, Sharon Nabwire (her closest competitor) said it was a mistake and demanded a recount which I still won,” she said.