The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Award, now in its third year, recognizes extraordinary achievements of young change-makers from around the world
California, US | THE INDEPENDENT | Sarah Ongom Apio, a 26-year-old postgraduate diploma student in monitoring and evaluation at the Uganda Management Institute, Kampala, has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2023, an annual $100,000 award. It is given to one exceptional student that has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society.
Apio is Founder of Youth Leading Our World (YLOW), a youth Advisor at Junior Achievement Worldwide, a member of The Lions Club International, Uganda and LEOs of Makerere University Business School. She was selected from 3,851 applications from 122 countries.
The Varkey Foundation partnered with Chegg.org to launch the annual Global Student Prize in 2021, a sister award to its $1 million Global Teacher Prize. The intention was to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students everywhere who, together, are reshaping our world for the better. The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years old.
Growing up in a developing country and seeing first hand the effects of poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment on her family, neighbours, and surrounding communities, Apio ‘s mental health and academic performance were impacted. Despite this she has mentored other students at school, has held a variety of leadership roles, including being the school health minister, president of the cyber science club, and peer educator.
She has been designated an emerging star and represented northern Uganda at a Peace Corps Uganda camp GLOW, designed to empower young emerging school mentors.
She has participated in school competitions and received recognition and awards from organizations such as Junior Achievement Africa, Riham, Absa Bank Uganda, Century Bottling Company, Finance Trust Bank, and the outreach unit of the International Criminal Court.
At the age of 19, she established YLOW, a community-based organization that provides safe spaces for adolescent girls and teenage mothers in the rural areas of Lira district, northern Uganda.
In order to reduce the cost of education and make it more affordable, she’s given scholastic materials such as books, pens, and sanitary pads to school-age children, partnered with local businesses to provide school uniforms and shoes to underprivileged students, ensuring that they have the necessary resources to succeed in their education.
Sarah has raised awareness and engaged with communities to shift attitudes toward child marriage and teen pregnancy, leading to increased enrolment of girls in school and improved access to reproductive health services.
Through social media campaigns, community dialogues, and radio chat shows with community leaders, as well as school visits and sensitization programs in rural schools, she’s addressing systemic inequalities and empowering marginalized groups in order to fight child marriage and teen pregnancy by promoting equal rights and opportunities, decreasing discrimination, and advocating for policy changes.
Former Ugandan contenders for Chegg.org Global Student Prize
Ugandan students have a history of excelling in the Chegg.org Global Student Prize, with Erikan Baluku, a 25-year-old student from Kampala, Uganda, who was a master’s student in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, included in the top 50 shortlist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2022. And Alex Kyabarango, a 24-year-old Veterinary Studies student at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, was included in the top 50 shortlist for the 2021 prize.
Heather Hatlo Porter, Head of Chegg.org and Chief Communications Officer of Chegg, said:
“We are at a critical turning point as we face some of the greatest challenges in history. Students worldwide are keenly aware of this urgency, and they are leveraging their ingenuity to overcome the significant obstacles facing them to build a better future for us all.
“Congratulations to Sarah Ongom Apio. Chegg not only celebrates your achievements but also the endless possibilities that exist when young minds are driven by a passion for change. The Top 50 Global Student Prize finalists deserve the opportunity to have their stories told and have their voices heard. Their dreams, wisdom, and inventive spirit will illuminate a more hopeful future for everyone.”
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: “Sarah Ongom Apio’s story is a testament to the crucial role that education plays in building a better world for us all. It is the key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges, from war and conflict to climate change to growing inequality. As time runs out to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is more important than ever to prioritize education so we can face the future with confidence.”
Last year’s winner was Ukrainian teenager Igor Klymenko, a 17-year-old student from Kyiv, Ukraine, who moved to the countryside at the start of the Russian invasion to finish his final year of high school. Sheltered in the basement of his new home, Igor successfully completed his studies while refining the mine-detecting drone he had been working on for eight years. He was selected as the winner of the 2022 Chegg.org Global Student Prize from over 7,000 applications from more than 150 countries.
The first winner in 2021 was Jeremiah Thoronka, a 21-year-old student from Sierra Leone, who launched a start-up called Optim Energy that transforms vibrations from vehicles and pedestrian footfall on roads into an electric current. With just two devices, the start-up provided free electricity to 150 households comprising around 1,500 citizens, as well as 15 schools where more than 9,000 students attend.
The top 10 finalists of the Global Student Prize are expected to be announced in August this year. The winner, who will be announced later in the year, will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Student Prize Academy, made up of prominent individuals.
