JA's Biggest Superfan Is Apio Sarah Ongom!
November 6, 2020
For more than a year, two of JA’s biggest fans and supporters—William (Bill) Schawbel and Leo Martellotto—have been preparing to run the Boston Marathon to raise funds for JA. Bill, a member of the JA Worldwide Global Council, renowned businessman, and JA alumnus, set out to run the April 2020 marathon in celebration of his 80th birthday, and worked with us to secure two nonprofit entries, which are managed by John Hancock. Leo, who is also a JA alumnus as well as CEO of JA Americas, was given the second entry and made plans to travel from Argentina to Boston.
But COVID-19 changed those plans, with the marathon initially postponed to September 2020, and then reconceived as a virtual event, in which registered runners completed the 26.2-mile run on their own. Bill ran at his home in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, completing the entire marathon on a treadmill. Leo, an accomplished Iron Man Triathlete, decided to add to the challenge by running his virtual marathon in the mountains of Cordoba, Argentina. We’ve covered the experiences of both runners here, as well as their success at raising over US $125,000 for JA.
To heighten interest around the virtual event, we launched the JA Superfan Contest. Gaining points through physical exercise (from running to wheeling to dancing), sharing superfan status on social media, or donating, the winner would not only earn the title of “JA Superfan” alongside Bill and Leo, but would also win a trip to Boston the next time the city’s marathon is run in person, tentatively scheduled no earlier than fall of 2021.
Apio Sarah Ongom heard about the contest during the summer of 2020 from her home in Kampala, Uganda, where she had been expanding her workout routine. Before the pandemic, Apio Sarah found that she would get busy and postpone her workouts, although she still managed to run twice a week and set aside some time for short yoga workouts at the end of each day. COVID-19, however, brought both restrictions and more time, and each contributed to Apio Sarah’s increased exercise routine. She lengthened her yoga workouts, ran longer and more often, and spent her early mornings and late afternoons walking to and from her apprenticeship, about 4 kilometers each way. She was no longer skipping workouts, so a contest that gave points for exercise was a perfect fit.
A business-administration student at Makerere University Business School, 24-year-old Apio Sarah first got to know JA in February 2020, when she heard about a campaign called “Tide Turners: Africa Beats Plastic,” organized by JA Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme. She liked and followed JA Africa’s Facebook page to learn more about plastics and their role in pollution, and then signed up to participate. “The whole campaign period was amazing,” Apio Sarah recalls, “and I emerged as the overall winner. (Also flip to pages 12 and 13 of the campaign report, below, to see her feature.) After that, I signed up for JA Africa’s newsletter and that’s how I learned about a bigger body called JA Worldwide. I later followed JA Worldwide on Facebook and Twitter and signed up for a monthly newsletter,” where she learned about her chance at being crowned JA’s Biggest Superfan.
Through the JA Africa Tide Turners campaign, Sarah learned skills that aren’t taught in a traditional classroom. She advocated on behalf of the environment, using her voice for a positive change and learning creative ideas for how to make money while recycling plastics. “I also got exposed to other meaningful ways of environmental protection,” she says, “which I believe will enable me to become an advocate for the environment at all levels. JA Africa allowed me to speak at the Online National Youth Summit Plastic Tide Turner’s Challenge 2020, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme in India (view below) in June. I am super proud to be part of JA.”
We asked Apio Sarah about her plans once COVID restrictions are lifted. “I still plan to continue with my daily workouts to keep in good health,” she replied. “Besides finishing my education this year, I also plan to start up a small business in line with recycling plastics, using the knowledge and skills gained from JA Africa’s Tide Turners challenge.”
Plus, there’s the trip to Boston, and Apio Sarah is ready: “The whole journey to Boston makes me super excited each time I think about it. I can’t wait to attend in person and watch the Boston Marathon live, as well as taking pictures for memories of the journey to my dream city.”
We can’t wait to see you, Apio Sara . . . aka JA’s Biggest Superfan!
p.s. Thanks to everyone who participated! Rounding out the next five spots were Andela Dokic, Chloe Shuttlewood, Jeanie Nguyen, Moses Shan, and Camille Blair, all of whom will receive a box of “We Are JA” merchandise for their participation.