Sherrie Silver, a Rwandan choreographer known internationally, advised the youth not to lose hope, but to make the most of every opportunity they get.
She revisited this topic while attending the TIME100 Awards, an event by an American magazine. She received the ‘Time100 Impact Award’ for her transformative work among the public.
Upon accepting the award, she said, “I was just a girl playing in the countryside with my friends, without a dad, without hope, only dreams, and God.”
Now, Sherrie Silver is among those who have come a long way. Today, she engages in philanthropy. She is a well-known choreographer worldwide.
She started her journey using dance videos posted on YouTube, which attracted the attention of Donald Glover [Childish Gambino], leading to collaboration in the music video “This is America”.
This song led her in 2018 to become the first African to win the MTV Video Music Award.
She won in the Best Choreography category for the choreography she created and used in the ‘This is America’ music video.
The TIME100 award she received, she dedicated to “all African girls who dared to make their dreams a reality”.
Sherrie Silver is now an Ambassador for Malaria No More, an organization aimed at combating malaria.
She founded the ‘Sherrie Silver Foundation’, a charity to assist talented individuals, repaying the kindness she received when she was taught to dance for free, a skill that has now become her profession.
Everyone in this organization is served free of charge. She mentioned that her life is an example of what a person, especially a girl, can achieve when given an opportunity.
She said, “My life is an example of what can be achieved when a young girl in Rwanda is given the opportunity to show herself and follow what her heart desires to be.”
She also highlighted the importance of art and dance as a “powerful tool” for the children in her foundation.
She stated, “We want the youth in Africa to feel they don’t need to leave their countries to realize their artistic dreams and entrepreneurial aspirations.”
Sherrie, honored by TIME Magazine, is a 29-year-old Rwandan with British nationality, a professional modern dancer. She moved to the UK in 1999.
In 2019, she was appointed as an Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), where she works with rural youth.”
