Today, for the 23rd day of the Women's History Month project, I would like to introduce this beautiful woman
Meet, Awieno Sunday Charles, 26, a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter, a designer and a survivor.
Awieno Sunday Charles is a South Sudanese born and raised in Masindi Uganda. She lived there for 12 years before moving to the USA. Her parents and grandparents were born and raised in Juba, South Sudan. She is also a single mother of 2, one girl who is 3 years old and 1 boy who is 9 months old.
Sunday comes from a family of 24, she has 3 older brothers and 5 younger sisters from both her mom and dads side. She has 2 late step mothers, and all her siblings share the same father. Her mother who has been a widow for 12 years now has taken the responsibility to overlook the whole family. As the oldest girl in the family sunday was responsible for taking care of her younger sisters. While her parents went to work in order to provide for them. In her village they would walk barefoot everywhere. They also had big guard that would roam around the village. Sundays family worked very hard to be able to pay for school and buy them uniforms and books.
Sunday's biggest responsibility at the age of 7 was helping her siblings. Because her parents had to provide for all of them. The time she started schooling she was very happy because she was able to walk with her older sibling to school and get to go to more places. After school most of the time she would go to the market where people are sewing and they’d have extra fabric and give it to her for free. She would go back home and use needles to sew the fabric into underwear and clothes for her siblings and that’s when she had fallen in love with sewing.
"Life was easy and hard at the same time in Uganda", says Sunday.
"The hard part is I’ve experienced 2 wars. I do not no remember the first one because I was very young, but as much as I can remember the second, my house was burned down almost taking my little sister Apiyo Charles, we were forced to move out of our own home. My family was then separated because everyone was running for their lives with no place to go I carried my 3-year old sister Achen Charles on my back into the forest hoping to find a safe place. The war lasted for 3 days and I had ask a stronger mother to breastfeed my baby sister. I drank dirty water from the ground, and slept outside in the woods, I had nothing to eat for 3 days, with Gods guidance I finally ran into a big group of people and found my family altogether. Some were hurt but what mattered most was that they were all alive and safe." Concludes Sunday.
In 2008 Sunday moved to America in Portland Maine with 12 of her family members leaving some of her step brothers and sisters behind. She started 8th grade at Lincoln Middle School. After Sunday graduated middle school she attended Portland High School where she ran Track and Field and joined a sewing class at Casco Bay High School through a program called PATHS. "Ever since I’ve just been in love with sewing." Says Sunday.
After She graduated from Portland High School she attended the Institute of Arts in Philadelphia, for a year before transferring to MECCA where she studied fashion design.
Currently, she is a full-time mother of 2 and she sows and sells African clothing on the side. She believe that life challenges come and go throughout and staying positive and making the best out of each situation is how she keeps herself together.
Sunday has achieved many things in life and one of her most memorable achievements was organizing a fashion show with some of her best dresses, and having her sisters and friends model for her.
What do you value most in life?
"I value my independence the most in life as well as my family. Together we have achieved more than we’d ever thought was possible."
Advice for another women:
"Stay positive and consistent in all the things you do, do them with passion. Keep your head up."
Here is another one of Sunday's Favorite quotes:
“You are the artist of your own life. Don’t hand the paintbrush to anyone else.” Unknown.
*****
Thank you, Sunday, for sharing your journey with us all!
#whm #womenshistorymonth #womanoftheday #womensupportingwomen #mainephotographer
2 Comments
May 4, 2022, 5:29:45 PM
Catherine Okeny - Keep up the amazing job it will pay off proud of you Sunday stay blessed❤️❤️❤️💯✌🏿
Mar 23, 2022, 8:24:04 PM
Sarah Obur - I love you cuz! Thank you so much for being so strong and sharing some of your story!