The boy I once knew: The Untold Tale from Poverty to Service Above Self

Allow me to share this story of a boy I have known since my childhood. My brother Dickson knows the realities of this young man. Born in the hills of a village in Mubende District, in a family of four, was a boy that I once knew. Settled and muddled in abject poverty. A house for a home was a dream. Together with his mum and sisters, they found residence in a small shed erected from an assortment of polythene bags. Under the circumstances, even a mud and wattle structure was a luxury. 

He learnt how to read and write by writing on the ground. Disheartened by fate and the challenges of growing in absolute pauperism, his mother took it upon herself to educate him. Although she could not afford the UShs. 10 then to pay for her children’s school dues, she sacrificed her daughters’ education for him. Yes – him. In him, she found a friend, hope and a glimpse to the future. The decision was painful and implausible, but fate had dictated the circumstances. The ramifications of his sisters dropping out of school were early childhood pregnancies, and eventual death whose horror he still apprehends.

To this young man, studying was only a part of the story. He walked three miles to and from school daily, and always rushed back home quickly enough to engage in household chores and work at the same time. It is inconceivable to note that he started working nearly at the age of six helping mum to brew nguli (waragi). The drudgery did not stop him from studying hard at school, as his only hope was education.

In that year’s Primary Leaving Examinations, he was the best in the district. The emotions that hedged the news was the dilemma that life had given him. After all, there was no hope of continuing with school. There was no money and barely could they make ends meet. He was a witness in his misfortune. When the Senior One admissions were announced, the headmaster of his former school expeditiously put up with the morning rains to bring the flowery news to his mother – he had been admitted to Namilyango College. The semblance of joy was a fairy tale to this young man seeing that life presented numerous hills that were too steep to climb. The fees were UShs. 600, and the thought of it was a stifle in their hearts. If UShs. 10 was too expensive for us all, what about 600?

One evening, they heard a car trailing the footpath to their home and as he sat in the jack-fruit tree outside their shed, the rumblings of it’s engine steered fear and panic. He climbed down the tree within a second and rushed to his mother for refuge. Never had a car used their desolate footpath in all the years he had lived, and together with his mum, they scuttled into a nearby bush fearing for their lives. Is it the police or army he asked? Out of fear, they left one of his sisters at home to deal with the unplanned visitors determined not to get arrested.

Fortunately, the aftermath was good news. The district through the District Education Officer had given this young man a scholarship of UShs. 300 towards his secondary education.  They informed his sister that the family needed to raise the balance of UShs. 300.  Without money and hope, this boy’s mother silently whispered, “Mutabani, Omukama akwagala, naye simanyi sente ezisigadde gye’zigenda kuvva.” Meaning; “My son, God loves you, but I do not know where the money we need is going to come from.” The words were a usual reminder of the person that he was, and although they brewed nguli night and day, the outcome was too little to suffice.

Multiple challenges seemed to hinder every step of the way. That said, a person who had connections with Rotary picked interest in this young lad and decided to foot the balance of the UShs. 300. It is unimaginable how compassion and selflessness can drive humanity to aid and abet. For the very first time, he traveled to Kampala.

Clad in a shoe that was a size smaller and the traditional Namilyango College uniform bought by a God sent humanitarian, he started the journey to school. Without the money for the taxi fare from Seeta to Namilyango, together with his mum, they footed the entire journey as he carried his suitcase on his well-shaved head. However, along the way, the pain of wearing shoes that were a size smaller resulted in blisters, and excruciating pain, forcing him to walk barefooted.

On reaching Namilyango, he was teased for having come from abject poverty. In the history of Namilyango College, he was the only one who went to class daily without shoes, however, not an ounce of the abuses tormented him. He considered himself an athlete running his race and in sight of his origins, failure due to other people’s opinions was not an option. Out of sympathy, one of his teachers – Mr Masembe (RIP) bought him his second pair of shoes from BATA. He was overjoyed and underwent an episode of tears as the thought of having a well-fitting pair of shoes was unimaginable.

In secondary school, he changed residence from Mubende to Mukono for it was only fair that he lived next to his new adopted family. He worked as a houseboy in his newfound home, and when he had a leeway, he made mud bricks. The charisma that he had in doing household chores was natural, and although the toll of brick-making was tiring, the thought of not studying was too painful to imagine.

He was smart with his hands and in the classroom, thus earning himself a bachelor’s degree in Statistics. Owing to this excellence he was handpicked straight out of the university for a job where he honorably worked up the ladder to the position of Managing Director of this great institution.

You would think that he was happy and all was well. After all, he had started earning some money and life had taken its twists. However, the misery of losing all his sisters to death clouded his thoughts. Here he was on a path to success with only a mother. As tears rolled down his cheeks… he narrated how cancer ended her life too and what a life, this Queen had lived – whoosh, he said.

A few years later, together with a couple of friends, he ventured into proprietorship and started a business dealing in medicines. As life became better, the agony of losing his family and in particular his beloved sisters took its toll. It was mortifying. It became increasingly natural for him to go into medicine as the countless horrors of losing loved ones to poverty and disease reminded him of the need to do something about it.

He continuously told himself, – with medicine, I can save lives. As he took on the clout of working each day, he promised to stay on course even in turbulence, to seek for love from the heavenly mighty and to accept the choices he had made. When the time came, he spearheaded the setting up of Africa’s first HIV/AIDS Anti-Retro-viral and malaria drugs factory. That company today provides treatment to over one million patients in Uganda who would die had it not been for the hard work of this great facility.

In honour of his mother, he is currently setting up a cancer drug factory which will be completed within the next three years with the hope that they will start selling cancer medicines in Africa and continue to fight this killer disease.

A few years ago he joined Rotary and as his wealth portfolio grew, the burdens of his past reminded him of the dire need to support education, for as a result of education, he is now privy to a chance at life. In memory of his mother and adopted father, he set up a foundation that has paid school fees for over 100 students. Out of relentlessness, he set up an Endowment Fund at the Rotary Foundation to pay school fees for brilliant Ugandans who cannot afford. Through this fund, he has committed US$ 250,000.

Approached by his friend Past District Governor Bob Waggwa Nsibirwa, he accepted to spearhead the construction of the Mengo Rotary Blood Bank. This was achieved with the efforts and commitment of many astute Rotarians. The One Drop of Blood Initiative was introduced thereafter to support the equipping and operations of the Blood Bank.

Today, together with another friend Past District Governor Ken Mugisha, they have embarked on yet another new life-changing opportunity engineered by District 9214 Governor Elect Peace Taremwa in which he has quietly committed US$ 375,000 to continue touching hearts. “Why do I tell you the story of this boy? – Rotary Opens Opportunities. Had it not been for the heart of a gallant Rotarian who picked that boy that I once knew, and allowed him to breathe, humanity would have missed out on greatness.

Today the world bleeds in the misery of COVID-19 and the smacks of poverty. Go and pick these boys and girls and open opportunities for them. The remnants of your actions shall be the stories of your children and their children’s children. They will tell the world of the wonder that you are and they will say: – Our granddad lived for others.

This is the story of the boy I once knew, that I felt the need to share during this installation ceremony of the Rotary Club of Muyenga Tankhill. I thank the Charter President Christine Kawooya Kyeyune for accepting to lead the Club. “In you Christine and incoming President Bildard Baguma, I see leadership, adaptability to serve above self and integrity. Keep that up,” said Past District Governor Emmanuel Katongole.

Give the world water, education, save mothers from premature deaths, prevent diseases, promote peace and do projects similar to what your club has started in Kikubamutwe. Posterity shall judge us – that these men and women loved others.

“To you Bildard and Christine, as you rise, always remember that the top of every mountain is the beginning of another mountain. The little things that you do, are the small drops in the ocean. When they grow, they become ripples, and when they grow further, they become waves. As they grow larger, they become a tsunami whose impact is felt by everyone that comes across it. Be the tsunami of change whose presence makes the world a better place. “God bless you all.”

Narrated by a philanthropist

Written by: Rtn. Luwaga Gyaviira | lewis@lewisshawadvertising.com | Rotary Club of Muyenga Tankhill, Uganda, Rotary District 9211.

This article first appeared in the August 2020 issue of The Wave – the monthly publication by our neighbors Rotary International District 9211: Uganda and Tanzania. Past DRR Samuel Karanja got consent from PDG Emmanuel Katongole and Rtn. Luwaga Gyaviira to have it on The Timeline.