The Do Something Awards, which honor social change agents 25 and younger, will air live tonight on VH1. Over the past two weeks, we’ve brought you interviews with Divinity Matovu, one of this year’s 10 finalists and co-founder of the Amageze Gemaanyi Youth Association (AGYA), a non-profit organization that operates a community center for youth in Uganda. Read parts one and two of the interviews.
We finish the three part series with the story of one of the lives touched by AGYA’s work. Sarah Mulekatete is a 19 year old Ugandan woman who has triumphed over adversity. She lost her mother in the Rwandan genocide, and has been raised by her father in the slums of Uganda. When Sarah came to AGYA, she was another shy girl in a society that often quiets the voices of children and women. “When I met her, she whispered and could barely look you in the eye. She thought that was a woman’s place to be seen not heard,” says Matovu. Now, Sarah has blossomed into a leader and confident young woman (dare I say, womanist/feminist) who now helps other young women at AGYA find their voices.
http://www.amagezigemaanyi.blogspot.com/
Z&A: What would you say is your favorite thing about AGYA?
AGYA is really amazing. One thing I like about it is that,when it comes to terms of religion, they don’t say that AGYA is for Christians or Muslims or whatever – everyone is free to be part of AGYA. Two, I like the classes they offer here. In Uganda, it’s among the few organizations that offers classes like hip hop dancing, ballet, camera class. And, you know, they don’t charge anything.
Z&A: Tell me a little about the younger students and what they take away from the program
We have many girls here at AGYA so for them, it’s sort of big sister thing. Most of them feel more comfortable here than where they are staying. We have a free lunch program here, when the young kids come and we provide them with something to eat, they tell people, ‘you know, Aunt Sarah provided this for me.’ But it’s the organization that provides free lunch for everyone. With providing the free lunch program, when you teach them after lunch, they’ll automatically get what you’re teaching.
Z&A: You teach classes at AGYA. Can you describe some of the classes you’ve created or taught?
I teach girls how to speak English. Before I did that, Divinity was teaching us vocabulary words. We used to speak very plain English, like ‘this is a boy, this is a girl.’ She taught us new vocabulary words and got us new books. When she left, I took over the class and started teaching English. In the beginning it was kind of hard but I picked it up.
We also have a sisterhood class. This class empowers young girls. For example, one of us could come when she’s kind of miserable. Maybe a sister will call a class and we all write down something to encourage her. She feels more encouraged, she feels like she has sisters at AGYA who cares, she feels really at home. I also teach the choir.
Z&A: Tell me more about the sisterhood class and why it’s important to have that.
Sisterhood class is most important, especially for girls. The main purpose of this class is to learn more about our everyday lives, especially as females. It’s focused on education, how AIDS is spread, how we can avoid that. Also, as I told you, when someone is discouraged, the class is also there to help her feel more comfortable. We share our lives and our ideas.
We also have something called the Queen of the Week where we choose one girl. That Queen of the Week feels so proud, she’s one out of 60 students. To be the Queen, you’re the one who was the best in classes, the one who attended class – it means you are a woman of good character. We also never call ourselves girls, we call ourselves women.
Z&A: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
I want to be a journalist, most especially a television journalist. I lost my mother in the genocide which took place in Rwanda and I have grown up with a single parent, my father. I want to be a journalist because here at AGYA, we are known a bit but still we need a person who can be a spokesperson. I could have a television where I say, ‘okay today, I’m hosting Divinity Matovu from AGYA.’ If I become a journalist, and someone becomes an editor, and someone else becomes a fashion designer – you know Uganda will really build a good generation. One thing is that here at AGYA, we have people who come to help us and teach a journalism class. We did a program, Life Talk television and and I’m a good presenter. I want to go to school to study to be a journalist. I have the skills they teach me here at AGYA – how to use a camera, how to explain myself, how to talk with people and how to handle different types of people.
Z&A: If you become a journalist, what are some of the other issues in Uganda that you would to highlight or report?
I would talk about the lives of women, how women are treated in Uganda. That’s why we are here. Here in Uganda, women are not helped. But, what AGYA is doing now, I know will take the women somewhere. Most of the women here are very smart. We have some editors, we have some powerful politicians, we have some great women. Before, women were not supposed to eat first, women had no rights to be in bigger spaces but we are getting kind of developed. Our mothers were denied their rights but our generation, we can change that.
http://www.amagezigemaanyi.blogspot.com/
Learn More about AGYA
Blog: http://www.amagezigemaanyi.blogspot.com
Web: http://1amf.org/projects_agya.php
Twitter: www.twitter.com/amagezigemaanyi
