WINDHOEK-Hionel Apollus strives to inspire the youth with creativity so that their technical knowhow and leadership qualities can influence and impact the political development process in the country.
“With an enthused demeanor, I find joy in being a political young man solemnly resolved to fight social evils with my involvement in youth politics and leadership. I displayed this interest with my first public appearance on a podium addressing students at the African Child’s Day celebration held by the Pan African Centre of Namibia (PACON) in 2015,” he says.
Born in 1994 in Keetmanshoop in the #Khara Region, Apollus says growing up in a village imbued him with a definite spirit of independence and black consciousness with potential strength to become an upper-lip young man. “My political awakening was driven by the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) during my secondary education at the Westside High School in Swakopmund in the early 2000s. The chant “Energy – Nanso” organised us and fired a hunger for political involvement and change. We wanted to be involved and refused to sleep through this revolution. We were a group of hungry student activists with the common goal of becoming constitutional experts,” explains Apollus. Growing up in a house led by a traditional grandfather and a God-fearing grandmother, Apollus clearly remembered how the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Swapo Party and Orlando Pirates dominated most conversations in their home. “To my mind, they all attempted to explain the origin and destiny of men.” In 1990 his parents moved to Windhoek in search of a better opportunity in life, compelling him to start schooling at the Olof Palme Primary School in the Goreangab Dam informal settlement. “This is where it all started to manifest, the urge to be a better person. The psychology of an informal settlement hit me at once and transformed into a belief that working harder was the only solution. This belief goes in tandem with appreciation. Appreciating what you have and making use of every hour,” says Apollus.
His biggest challenges was poverty
“Before realising that this was indeed a global epidemic, I regarded and still do regard poverty as a personal problem. I constantly reminded myself that poor people only need to make better choices – work harder, stay in school and be progressive,” he explains adding that this prepared him to present visions of developments, the importance of freedom and become voices of the masses.
Apollus currently works for the Swapo Party of Namibia as a Researcher for the Swapo Parliamentary Office. “My position as researcher entails expanding the understanding and knowledge of Swapo Party Members of Parliament. Research offers the foundation for almost all government policies, in our economic system.”