For years, Lucia Nyangoma of Ugandan Triplets Ghetto Kids lit up stages around the world as one of the beloved faces of the group. Now 18, Nyangoma has officially aged out of the group and is charting a new path for herself. In this candid conversation with our teen reporter , she opens up about her journey to global recognition and what it means to grow up in the spotlight.
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00:00My name is Abigail Mulunji and I'm in Uganda and to be specific in Kampala.
00:18Today I am super excited because I'll be talking to Lucia Nyangoma, a member of the famous dance group Triplet Ghetto Kids.
00:26The dance group recently made global headlines as finalists in the Britain's Got Talent show held in the UK.
00:38Hi, good to meet you.
00:42Can you tell us more about yourself?
00:48Well, my name is Nyangoma Lucia, the Queen of Kaseise.
00:52I'm a dancer from the Triplet Ghetto Kids Uganda.
00:55And I'm passionate about dance.
00:59How did you join the dance group, the Triplet Ghetto Kids?
01:03The Ghetto Kids had some shows in western Uganda.
01:07The person who had invited them to perform, let me say, was my guardian because he's the one who picked me from where?
01:14From my village, there Yakaseni.
01:17So, as I was performing, I didn't realize that their manager was backstage watching me dancing.
01:25When I got to know about it, you know what I did?
01:29You know what I did?
01:30No?
01:31Tell us what you did.
01:32I added some energy because I wanted him to see me.
01:36I can dance, I can join the Ghetto Kids and be among them.
01:40So, you get it.
01:44How old were you?
01:45By then, I was nine.
01:47Wow.
01:48Yes.
01:49And that was 2015.
01:50Some people believe it's hard to perform well in school while still actively involved in music like you are.
01:56Yeah.
01:57How is it for you?
01:58It depends on what you want and where you come from, according to my opinion.
02:03As for me, I joined Ghetto Kids not only to dance but to what? To study.
02:11The reason why I want to study hard, I want to change my people's lives in Kasese.
02:18How does it feel to be a superstar at your age?
02:21It feels really nice and I'm proud of myself because before joining the Ghetto Kids, people in my village used to talk about the Ghetto Kids, most especially Patricia.
02:32Then, I told myself, work hard. You also need to be talked about in your village and in other countries.
02:43One thing that I had taken away from that chat is that hard work and vision gets you where I want.
02:49Since we are filming this video from their home, why not also get some views from their manager?
02:56Walk us through the process of getting the kids join the dance group.
03:00These kids have different stories. I get them from different slums.
03:04I'll get to resolve Kampala, Uganda.
03:06So, these kids are like orphans. Some can say less privileged kids and some are from the streets.
03:17So, each child, like I said, has a different story. So, like you see, I got her from Kasese.
03:26The kids are as young as five. How do you handle the needs of everyone?
03:31I try to, like, find each and every one needs. You know, we are a very big family because they are around 33 children now.
03:40So, I make sure that they all get what they want but in bits, not at the same time.
03:47I'm a dad and being friends to them. So, that's how I handle them. So, they always tell me what they want and I always try my level best to provide and not to lie to them.
03:57Because when I lie to them, next time they won't believe in me and they also will lie.
04:03That's interesting. Thank you. Is there an age limit of remaining in the group?
04:07When they turn 18, always the kids have to exit because that is now an adult.
04:13But, you know, I'm a father and Ghetto Kids is a home. So, you can't always outgrow your home or your father.
04:20You always remain under your father. So, they always come back. They always come back and see their fellow kids.
04:26So, there is age limit but we always follow and they always come back.