Enny Kayondo

 I am Kalawo Enoch C.B. Kayondo and I am a Ugandan of 22 years born in 1980. I am a senior four dropout, son of Mr. Ssajjabi Josiah and Mrs. Mirembe Phoebe of Kigulamo Village found in Iganga district in Uganda.

I joined Busalaamu S.D.A. pre-primary school where I studied for two years and later joined Tabingwa Primary School in 1989 for primary three. In 1993 my father decided to take me to a boarding school for better settlement of my education in Iganga S.D.A Light School.

It was at this time that when I started developing my dream of being one of the music stars in Uganda after I heard Jimmy Katumba's songs being aired on the radio. His songs affected me so much that I wanted to sing like him. Some of his songs like 'Lwaki tetuyiga' where he blasted Ugandans and Africans for being asleep and not learning as well as not helping on another.

To uplift my talent, I organised my fellow pupils with help from our local church to form a gospel group. I enrolled in the debating club and was appointed leader, which helped me and my fellow pupils to develop and improve in English and public speaking. This helped me so much that I wrote short drama plays that attracted a large crowd who gave me gifts like clothes, sugar and sometimes some little money because of my age. This encouraged me very much.

I passed very well from primary with nine aggregates in the Primary leaving examinations and though my parents were excited about my results, they had no money for my school fees. So I had to stay home for the first term then later joined Light Academy Bulenga situated in along Kampala-Mityana road.

On my arrival there, I showed my talent after only two days when I joined the school choir. The principal was very impressed and registered me immediately, which I suspect he paid for himself. I performed excellently during the recording of an album titled 'Asaanira Okweba' by Light Gospel Sounders. Unfortunately, I was there for only one term because of misunderstandings between my parents which later led to their divorce and we were abandoned at home.

When my mother left home in '96, life started getting difficult and this made my father to stop working though he was self-reliant. I couldn't go to school anymore, which again caused another problem between us, but he was later advised by some sympathisers to take me back to school.

Because of fees problems, I joined school in the last term in Iganga in senior two but had to ride a distance of fifteen kilometres. I was affected so much by the rain and hunger for I did not have money for lunch sometimes but I played a blind eye to all this until it rained so heavily that the bridge on the way to school was broken. I was taken to my aunt's home where I stayed for the remaining terms.

After that, I tried to make plans to fulfil my music dream and left home for Kampala to live with my uncle who is still accommodating me. During this period I met different street children. Most of them had a problem of mistreatment by their parents and guardians. By combining the hardships I have gone through and the street kids' suffering, I came up with two songs titled "Obulwa omuzadde" meaning without a parent and "Mututira ki?" meaning why are you killing us.

Though I have no sponsor, I have managed to record one song Mututira ki? And I hope it will be educative to all so that there will be a change in children's rights abuse.
I also call upon whoever can sponsor me to feel free and contact me at e-mail

cbkalennykay@yahoo.com