kanthari blog – Justus Muhwezi – Uganda
“Good morning, Muhwezi. I heard Sabondo, your brother, is no more. He died last night.” This is the message I received while I was in India attending the Kanthari leadership course, far away from my family.
I was born and raised in Kabale District, southwestern Uganda, in the Kigezi region, famous for mountain gorillas, high hills, deep valleys, and swamps along Lake Bunyonyi, the second deepest in Africa. But behind the beauty of the landscape lies a community with generational poverty, school dropouts, and forgotten youths. I was one of these forgotten youths.
I come from a family of 11 children, 5 boys and 6 girls, and I’m the eldest. Nine children are biological, and 2 are adopted orphans. Of the 11, 5 never studied beyond primary school, 4 never completed secondary education, and the last born is still in school. Unfortunately, one of my biological brothers died this year in June 2025. He was a school dropout too, like many other youths in our community, with no livelihood skills. He dropped out because our parents could not manage school costs for us all.
This struggle is not unique to my family. It is shared by many in our community. Families face heartbreaking decisions over which children to send to school. Poverty, hunger, and limited land resources make education a dream many can’t reach. I remember walking 10 km to school and back home hungry, alongside my younger siblings, relatives, and friends, most of whom eventually dropped out. It was hard to watch my siblings and friends leave school. Many dropouts fall into addiction, child labor, prostitution, or early marriages, which lead to teen parenthood and yet another generation of children missing out on education.
When I completed a diploma, finding a job wasn’t easy. I tried joining the army, but I had no luck. I tried getting security jobs abroad, it didn’t work out. Eventually, a former lecturer helped me land a teaching job in Rwanda. While in Rwanda, I met a pig farmer who was transforming his community. Inspired by his passion, I started my own small initiative, giving 15 piglets to 15 families as a pilot project. It worked well until COVID-19 hit. With no income, families sold the pigs just to survive.
The memory of my siblings and friends missing out on education stayed with me. I kept asking myself, what can be done to support school dropouts, earn an income, rebuild their confidence, and find hope again?
While in Rwanda, I planned to quit employment and do something in my community with the youth, but I got a short-term contract for 5 months in Burundi, with plans to end my employment career and go back home to my community. Only after one month on the job, the COVID lockdown started, and everything changed negatively. While in Burundi, I had time to reflect on my passion of empowering school dropouts. That’s when I decided to quit employment completely, and start an initiative that empowers youth and Children.
Returning home without tools, skills, or a workplace, I began by persuading local workshop owners to informally train interested youths. With no experience running an organization, I started volunteering online to learn. During my search, I discovered Goodness Mercy Missions from Cameroon. Later, the founder recommended that I attend kanthari’s impact leadership training program in India.
At kanthari, I further developed my vision and created my organization, Jacana. The Jacana is a bird known for its ability to walk on water plants, symbolizing the empowerment of youth in my region to become “water walkers.”
Are you curious to learn more? Look out for kanthari TALKS 2025, where I will present my intervention to the world.
Read more kanthari blog posts on: https://www.kanthari.org/coronablog/
