On a warm Friday afternoon, Moses
Mutesasira, clad in his sky blue and grey over-all majestically walks to the
place where his life took a complete U-turn…. KiBO Foundation. He shares his
tale of transformation which was a result of the KiBO journey.
Before joining KiBO, Moses was a
goon, a leader of a pick pocket racket on the streets of Kampala. Sleeping
under tunnels, fighting, doing drugs, and leading a plan-less life was all he
did. As a leader, he held strategic planning sessions with his loyal clique on
where to go, who to target, and how to rob a potential victim. All this ended
when he had an encounter with a one, Patrick Bwogi. It was at this point that
he would hear of the name KiBO Foundation.
In 2009, Moses enrolled for the
KiBO program upon being recommended by Patrick. “In addition to the computer
skills which I needed, I also wanted to improve on my communication and
interpersonal skills”, says Moses about why he joined KiBO. His time at KiBO
taught him more about life than anyone ever did. He recalls moments when he
would disagree with some of his colleagues and burn with rage to the point
where he wanted to fight. However, “KiBO’s environment was not appropriate for
fighting”, he says with a smile. Moses summarizes what he learnt at KiBO in one
statement, “KiBO taught me to believe in myself, to talk to people, and to
bring a change in my community”.
Upon completing the KiBO course,
Moses set out to begin anew. His first attempt in getting a job was futile. On
three occasions, he went to the organization that had promised him a return
call which never materialized. It was on his return from one of these visits to
this organization that the idea of “Miracle Destiny Company” was born.
“I was walking back…,
disappointed and pondering on what to do when I saw a sack of garbage at
someone’s verandah”, recalls Moses. At that point he also recalls one of the
many pieces of advice that Abraham Temu, the director of KiBO Foundation gave
him, “find a social problem and get a solution to it”. He was paid UgShs 1,000
to carry this garbage and his life has never been the same. Miracle Destiny
Company, a garbage collection company which is Moses’ brainchild currently
employs six people (3 of whom are former street children), has a client base of
over 200 people, and is growing in leaps and bounds. His vision for Miracle
Destiny is “to diversify to a chain of businesses and make it the biggest brand
in Uganda”.
