When Richard Kyakulaga talks about his future, he does not begin by talking about a job.
He talks about a house.
A house he wants to build for his mother.
It is a simple dream, but behind it is a story of determination, opportunity, family and the power of education to change what a young person believes is possible.
He is the only boy among six children. He grew up in a family raised by a single mother, who carried the responsibility of caring for her children and providing for their future while living with HIV.
He is the middle child.
Growing up, education was important, but continuing school was not something that could simply be taken for granted. For many families, keeping children in school requires sacrifices that are often invisible to those outside the family.
His journey changed when he became part of the child sponsorship programme at He Intends Victory.
The support gave him an opportunity to continue his education.
But sponsorship can only open a door.
The person has to walk through it.
He did.
Rather than simply pursuing education for the sake of obtaining a qualification, he chose a practical path. He went to trade school and studied Construction and Building.
Today, he holds a National Certificate in Construction and Building.
His certificate represents more than the completion of a course. It represents a skill he can use to earn a living, build a career and contribute to his family.
And perhaps most importantly, it represents a new way of imagining his future.
Spend time with him at a construction site and you begin to understand that construction is not just something he studied.
It is something he wants to become good at.
There is something different about watching a young person who once depended on others for an opportunity now standing on a construction site with skills of his own.
He is learning to measure.
To build.
To work.
To solve problems.
To create something that did not exist before.
And then there is the dream.
When asked what he hopes to achieve, his answer comes back to his mother.
He wants to build her a house.
For a young man who grew up watching his mother raise six children, the dream carries a meaning far greater than bricks, cement and a roof.
It is gratitude.
It is responsibility.
It is his way of saying, You carried us. One day, I want to carry you.
That is what makes his story so meaningful.
The goal of supporting a child through education should never be simply to produce another certificate.
A certificate matters, but what matters more is what that certificate makes possible.
A skill can become an income.
An income can become stability.
Stability can become dignity.
And dignity can change the future of an entire family.
His story is also a reminder that young people should not only be seen as beneficiaries of development programmes.
They are future builders, entrepreneurs, professionals, parents and community leaders.
They are people with dreams of their own.
Our responsibility is to create opportunities, provide support and then give them the space to take ownership of their futures.
He has already taken that step.
Now he is looking ahead.
He wants to work.
He wants to build.
And one day, he wants to stand in front of a house that he built himself and know that the woman who raised him will call it home.
His journey is not finished.
In many ways, it is just beginning.
He was given an opportunity to learn.
Now he wants to use what he learned to build something for the person who gave him everything.
His mother’s house is still a dream.
But he now has something he did not have before:
the skills to build it.
Leave a Reply