KAMPALA/BUSIA – For Hellen Auma Wandera Obudidi sibulwaye Mama Busia life is not a bed of roses. It takes hard work and determination to succeed.
While pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree at Kyambogo University in Uganda, Hellen also worked as a fish vendor at Banda market centre, helping her parents to raise money for her fees and upkeep.
After the 2021 general elections in Uganda, Hellen made history, emerging as the youngest MP in the country.
Hellen said joining politics was a vision she received from God at a tender age. During her time in secondary school, Hellen had a dream on her life in politics which she quickly dismissed but it came back years later while in the university.
Born in December 12, 1997, Hellen is the fourth child in a family of seven children of Mr Dickson Wandera and Ms Betty Ofuro from Busia district, Uganda.
She graduated in 2019 the same year she abandoned her fish vending business in Banda and embarked on her political journey working closely with boda-boda riders to build grassroots support.
The political machinery she assembled would later see her trounce her rivals in the party primaries, earning her the support of the ruling National Resistance Movement.
Since 2021 she has played a vital role towards the development of the Busia district. She has helped hospitals to get ambulances, wheelchairs and hospital beds, electricity to rural areas, good roads, helped schools, churches and mosques, and revived the Majanji fishing company.
She has also helped in engaging the youth to focus and work hard. She has supported football teams by giving them uniforms, balls and boots, and empowered women through their circles.
This has however made her popular and friendly to everyone in the area making her the best candidate come 2026.
