Ham is a primary seven pupil from Busia District in Eastern Uganda. At 13 years of age, he is a change influencer in his municipality and proudly shares how his life has changed and how he has in turn changed the lives of his peers. He is the speaker of Busia Municipal Children’s Parliament; a position he was elected into by members of various children committees in February 2020.
“I come from a village in the municipality where cases of school dropouts are at the highest. Child abuse in my village could probably be the highest in the entire municipality”, he notes.
Some years back, Ham learnt about the Children’s Parliament because his school had representatives in the parliament.
“Because of that, I picked interest in participating in children affairs. As young people, because of lack of exposure, we often fear to express ourselves. However, because of the interest in the Children's Parliament, I convinced myself that I can be the speaker of the Children’s Parliament and help speak on behalf of my fellow children and protect my fellow children who were being oppressed.” he says.
Ham shares that he felt so happy to see that finally he had an opportunity to help friends who were being abused; especially those facing domestic violence which was on a high in Busia Municipality. He adds that he is elated at being part of a very happy family with both parents whom he says are quite understanding and supportive.
From the time that Ham was elected speaker of the Children's Parliament, he says that he, together with his fellow honourable members, have been at the forefront of advocating for a safe community that upholds the rights of children.