Kiira View and Onwards and Upwards are examples of schools funded by the COINS Foundation to provide Ugandan children with an education and a future.  Both secondary schools have created hundreds of places for young people. One such student is Anthony and this is part of his story. 

In 1994, Rwanda was in the grip of an horrific conflict – entire communities were being murdered.  Anthony was a very small child at that time - he can hardly have been more than 1 year old. 

We can only guess at the circumstances under which he became separated from his family, but we do know that he was taken under the protection of another boy who realised the plight of this young toddler and somehow found the opportunity and motivation to rescue him.  This other boy told Anthony much later that he took him because, “They were killing all the men and boys.” 

The two boys made their way north and crossed over into Uganda.  At first Anthony must have been totally dependent on his rescuer who got a job herding cattle, earning as little as 60p for full day’s work. Although we do not know any details of this Other Boy – not even his name, he must have been a remarkable individual. He spoke neither English nor Luganda (the two most commonly spoken languages in Uganda) – we must conclude that he had also recently become orphaned under terrible circumstances - and yet he took a job in a foreign land and elected to be the sole carer of an infant whom he selflessly rescued. 

As Anthony grew up he also started to tend cattle and the two children continued to work this way for several years. Anthony remembers that they regularly went hungry.  One day, Anthony’s friend became very ill with malaria and could not work. Though still only young himself, it was now Anthony turn to care for his friend. Sadly, he did not survive. “He had malaria.” Anthony said later, “But even malaria you can recover from. I think my friend died of hunger”. 

Now on his own, Anthony realised that he needed an education and got himself admitted to a primary school at the age of eleven. Using money from cattle herding, he rented the solitary room in which he still lives and he started school.  Anthony is a bright lad – he managed to fit seven years of primary education into two - achieving very high grades. This courageous and resourceful young man certainly deserves the place he was awarded at Onwards and Upwards secondary school. Now aged 17, Anthony still lives alone, his single room just large enough for a narrow mattress to remain in the corner without it impeding the opening door. He is a talented artist: on the windowless walls of his room Anthony has a poster that he created himself. It is a flowery motif that reads, “Loneliness is precious”.