How William survived Rwandan genocide and went on to win the hearts of a Warwickshire village

But in a life he describes as having many chapters, people in a Warwickshire village have paid for a house for William and his sister when he returns to Kampala, the Ugandan capital where he lived homeless for many years.

Through Christian organisation Careforce, William has been living in Budbrooke for the past two years, where he has worked at St Michael’s church with youth groups in the village and around Warwick.

He has made such an impression on the villagers that they have clubbed together to provide him with the most extraodinary leaving present - a roof over his head.

Yesterday (Thursday) he was due to return to Kampala and work with street children, but his story began in 1994, when Hutus massacred Tutsis, 
killing them with axes and stones. William fled to the next village with his younger sister Irene, then old enough to crawl, and then into neighbouring Uganda.

It was the start of many years of living on the streets. The two lived under a tree, finding food in dustbins or stealing it.

As a street-kid he was treated as a thief, and years of rejection made him wary of revealing anything about himself to strangers.

With the burden of looking after his sister, he planned to commit suicide five times, stepping into traffic and attempting to poison himself. Each time he failed, something he now sees as part of God’s plan.

Through a passion for football, he enrolled at a school where he had gone to pick up discarded sugar cane. Going to the headmaster, he asked if he could attend classes. The headmaster told him he could, perhaps to make him go away, but the next day William was back, asking which classes he should attend and what he could do to pay his way.

To this end, William swept rooms and cleaned toilets, picking those classes he needed and struggling because he spoke French while lessons were in English.

While he was at the school he had his first experience with ‘crusades’ - Christian preachers who told him how there was hope for him through God.

William said: “To me it made no sense, to me it was mad. But even if I didn’t listen, the lesson the preacher spoke brought something into my mind.”

Four months later, as he was wandering through the city looking for food he encountered another crusade.

William said: “He spoke the same words as I was walking by. This time I stood and listened.”

Not convinced, he made a condition with God to prove that he was there. That year, he received the highest mark in his year at school.

Now William made another condition - he wanted to go to university. Accepted at Makela University, he persuaded a friend to give him his old clothes, including shoes with broken soles.

Even then, life was not easy. He still has scars from when he was beaten up after he went to the canteen for a drink and did not have enough money to pay for it.

Still living under a tree and looking after his sister, William changed from taking classes during the day to the evening so people would not see his clothes.

Help came from the mother of his friend Julius, who gave him the first meal served on a plate since the death of his parents, but he still did not reveal his true circumstances.

Eventually he admitted he had been lying, and prepared for another rejection, but she instead told him to repent and offered to pay his exam fees. When he graduated third in his department, she threw him a party.

William said: “Someone accepted me out of nowhere. That brought me closer to God and I started going to church.”

His church, Sierra Ministries, was looking for somebody to represent Uganda. They wanted a Christian and somebody suggested me.

“When they chose me I thought it was a dream. They got me a passport and sent me to Australia.”

Since then William has travelled to Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, helping people many would see as more fortunate than him.

He said: “I decided to serve God by helping other people. I feel happy if I can go somewhere and help one or two other people.

“Being away has helped me heal my wounds. I’m not completely healed, it would be a lie of I told you that, but it has put me in the position where I can tell my story.”

Now William is looking forward to returning to the city he calls home, where the generosity of people in Warwickshire means he can help street children like him, but with a security he never dreamed he would have.

William said: “I know their pain and I know their experience. I know what they are facing.”

· Building links with Kampala

So many people want to hear William’s story, the church has made a DVD and hopes to set up a permanent link with his project in Kampala.


The Rev David Brown, priest-in-charge at St Michael’s, said: “William is an 
inspiration to the church and the community with his faith and his dynamic. God shines through him and the church has been really encouraged through his example.

“William commands respect. He’s quiet but wise and when he speaks people listen.”