By Nathan Eyagu
SOROTI CITY
It’s always hope and love for every child to grow up with company of both parents no matter the life situation but to William Etolu aged 20, it’s a different story.
Etolu now moves daily from Serere district to Soroti city to beg money that he uses to support himself and also help his grandparents.
With a number of disabled persons mushrooming slowly in Soroti City, begging from the public, with a number of reasons behind their act, without anyone to speak out for them, life keeps becoming unpredictable.
This websites’ reporter took time to investigate the life story of William Etolu, living with disability and frequently seen around centenary back walkway in Soroti city, moving using his knees to get shade as the hot sunshine continues to shine, the story of Etolu is worth telling.
After slowly following Etolu up to his home village in Orupe village in Kateta parish, Serere district, we had an interaction with him and people taking care of him while at home.
According to Joyce Apolot (Etolus’ grandma) who is around the age of 70, after their daughter having a safe delivery, she wasn’t able to reveal the identity of the father of Etolu saying that he fled after realizing that the kid was disabled.
She says, immediately their grandchild made two years, the mother also left to another district where she got married from and got four children but later also left that area to an unknown destination leaving behind Etolu under the care of his grandparents for a number of years now.
“He later got assisted by different people who offered wheel chairs and one politician who took him to his school, I was shocked after two years, Etolu said that he couldn’t manage being in boarding because the living conditions there were not favourable and that he was shy since other kids always laughed at him,” she narrated.
Etolu later joined the nearby government aided school from primary five till seven where he scored twenty two aggregates and wasn’t able to continue with school as his aged grandparents could not do much for him.
Because of frustration and desire to have basic needs for himself, William decided to start moving out of home to Soroti City to start begging with the help of his uncle who is a boda boda around Soroti City.
Etolu comes to Soroti City every morning at 07:00am till 02:00pm when the sun gets hot and is taken back to the home village by his uncle who is a boda where he has to pay transport dues worth 20,000 ugx in a good day and 10-12,000 ugx in other fair days.
Daniel Osiodi, a boda boda man alsothe uncle to William explained that the life his nephew goes through as a disabled person isn’t easy as many may imagine.
“When he needs to ease himself while we are already in town, he has to hold himself till the time we come back as there aren’t suitable areas of convenience that he can use looking at his situation, even at home he is assisted by the young kids, at times he goes even two days without bathing when the young ones are not close by,” he narrated.
He also added that, his nephew pays him according to what he has collected.
” I call upon well wishers and even government to help him in whatever way they can,” he says.
According to Etolu William, with the little money that he has managed to collect, he has been able to get himself a mattress, a goat, one chicken that later died due to fowl pox and other needs.
” I dream of becoming a doctor, my mum was assisted in labour ward by the most iconic doctor in Teso Sub Region, Wilson Etolu whom I also look up to, I am begging to save money so that i can also go back for further studies, that way I won’t be coming here again,” he narrated with teary eyes.
He further explained that he is a total orphan who doesn’t know where his parents are and is grateful to his grandparents who have been next to him for all those years.
“It’s not my own wanting to beg, but because of the situation, I have no choice, the sunshine can tend to be so hot, at times some drunk people can bully me looking at my condition, I can’t do anything, if there is any well-wisher outside there, I call upon your support, I am in a dire state, I can’t even practice agriculture like others, I use my knees for moving to nearby areas then a tricycle for distant areas in the village that also recently got me issues after I got involved in an accident.”
What the leaders say
Ocanit John William representing persons living with disability in the parish that Etolu comes from explained that persons living with disability go through a lot and are at times rendered useless.
“We have a number of disabled persons over here in this parish who need help and I call upon different government entities and well wishers to come over and help,”he added.
Mean while, Stephen Olebe, the Soroti District Councilor representing people with disabilities who once raised concern about Etolu William while in a function in the city said that ,” I have been seeing Etolu begging In town, he begs in a period of time when others are in school and got shocked to learn that his parents denied him because of his condition, I call upon different stakeholders to come to his rescue as he dreams of becoming a doctor, let’s join hands and see how to assist this young man get back to school.”
