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Freddy Mutyeba Chips In To Help 10 Fellow Orphans
by Nigel Marsh
 Freddy Mutyeba knows just how much difference a skill can make, and he's overjoyed to be able to pass his new skills on.
Freddy has gone from being an apprentice carpenter to an enthusiastic trainer of 10 young men. Like him, each lost one or both parents to AIDS.
"When my father died I wasn't able to continue with my education," explains Freddy.
"I liked school a lot, but at thirteen years old I had to help my old mother look after my three siblings – my sisters were eleven and eight, and my brother was six. We couldn't pay school fees; it was all I could do to buy clothes and beddings."
A World Vision community worker linked Freddy with a new association of boys being trained in carpentry, and he thrived. The program paid for tuition and tools. He was told that, in return, he should be willing to train others.
He graduated after 18 months with his friend Joseph Matovu. With the benefit of training materials and tools from World Vision, they have begun their own college under a traditional shelter on the roadside. Four of his apprentices have graduated already, with six more in training now.
Starting a business while offering training to others seemed a little daunting to Freddy and Joseph at times, but World Vision came up with some commercial instruction and an innovative way of giving them a helping hand.
"The World Vision development worker told me that instead of providing us with support as we got started in business, he would give us contracts to provide doors and furniture for classrooms and orphans’ homes," Freddy explains. "That works well, and we are busy. I decided to pay the students something from the money I make on every job, because they need things like soap and salt."
The four graduates of Freddy and Joseph's training have become good friends and business associates, says Freddy. The local market for woodwork can easily absorb more skilled carpenters.
"I have seen that some of them have used their money to buy small animals and local cows, and that way they are helping their brothers and sisters even more.
As for me, my siblings are in school and we have enough food."
Freddy's desire to care for others like himself extends even beyond Uganda.
"I would request World Vision to help orphans throughout Africa, especially those whose parents have died of AIDS, and particularly with skills. We have a difficult life, and there isn't much support for us."
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