Child Sponsorship

At just four months old, Julius Kamya was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

This condition, which primarily affects children under the age of five, occurs when nerve cells in the retina begin to grow abnormally in size and number, eventually forming a tumour. These cells can spread within and around the eye and in some cases, to other parts of the body such as the brain and spine.

For Julius, the cancer affected his left eye, gradually damaging his retina, thus leading to visual impairment. To prevent the condition from spreading to the right eye, doctors performed an operation to remove the affected eye.

As part of standard post-surgery care, doctors advised his mother to attend regular follow-up reviews, a recommendation she did not follow. Unfortunately, the cancer eventually spread to his right eye as well.

“At the age of 8, my sight started to deteriorate and one morning, on my way to school, my right eye suddenly gave way,” Julius recalls. “I groped my way through school for the rest of that term, but by the end, the teachers told my grandmother who I was living with at the time, not to bring me back because of my visual impairment.”

In a desperate attempt to restore vision in his right eye, Julius’ auntie took him from one herbalist to another in vain.

“We tried everything from traditional herbs and even witchcraft. One witch doctor wanted to take me to the lake for a ritual, but my mother refused. That’s when I gave up and accepted my fate of losing my sight,” Julius recounts.

The cancer persisted and that is when they opted to go back to hospital. When doctors finally saw him, they were furious with his mother for delaying medical intervention, warning that he had been on the brink of death. They eventually removed his right eye to save his life.

At the age of nine, Julius began to question his future, especially as he watched his friends go to school while he stayed behind.

“I did not realize at the time, but my questions brought my mother to tears,” he recalls.

She sought advice and was eventually directed to a school for children with visual impairment in Soroti.

A ray of hope

Julius joined Madera St. Francis primary school for the Blind in Soroti, midway through third term. Though eager to move ahead, the school advised him to repeat Primary One since the Primary Two teacher only spoke English, while Julius was more fluent in Luganda. He agreed and used the opportunity to support his classmates as a teaching assistant.

Julius demonstrates how he uses his laptop at work.

George Masuba, the Program Manager at Partners for Children Worldwide, a local partner of ChildFund Uganda, recalled that Madera School for the Blind was among the institutions once supported by ChildFund Uganda, then known as Christian Children’s Fund.

“The approach then was that the organisation covered tuition for Julius along with 300 other learners at the school. But the support went beyond the classroom,” Masuba says.

He explained that to improve the children’s nutrition, the organization provided cassava cuttings and sweet potato vines, which were cultivated in the school’s kitchen gardens. “This helped ensure that the children had enough food throughout the term,” he explains.

“ChildFund also procured a brass band for the school, which became an income-generating project. The children were often invited to perform at community functions and the earnings went toward improving their welfare,” he adds.

Julius only later learnt that he had been among the children ChildFund supported at the time. “I got to know when I had left Primary School. It was always information concealed by the nuns at the school.” He however says ChildFund continued to pay his tuition as he progressed to Iganga Secondary School for O’Level.

“We were taught how to till the school gardens,” he recalls. “I also took part in music and became a band leader when I was in Primary Four. I played the melodeon like it was my own.”

At home, things were not easy. “My mother was struggling,” he says. “She was actively looking for ways to get support.”

She was first referred to the ChildFund office in Makindye and later directed to the Nakulabye office, where the focus shifted to supporting her to earn an income to continue supporting her son.

“She received financial assistance and decided to start trading in produce,” he explains. “But as she grew older, she opted for something that allowed her to work from home and eventually settled on selling charcoal.”

He excelled academically, scoring a first grade both in primary and secondary level.

Overcoming discrimination at university

Julius pursued History, Economics and Literature at A-Level, initially with hopes of studying law. However, after doing his research, he discovered that Makerere University’s law program was not accommodating to visually impaired students.

“I realized law would not work for me,” he says. “Our assistive machines made noise and were not allowed in the library and they did not permit our readers either.”

Instead, he chose to study Mass Communication. That was in 1992. But even that path was not without hurdles. On his first day, when he went to register, the faculty secretary assumed he was lost. “She told me no visually impaired student had ever enrolled in the course,” he recalls.

Despite settling in and attending classes, whispers began circulating that he should consider dropping out. “They said the course was too rigorous and required sight,” he says. Curious, he asked what exactly was so challenging. “They pointed to photojournalism and graphic design. I told them we could always have alternative papers.”

Soon after, Julius was summoned to a meeting with a faculty panel led by Dr. Gakwande and included Dr. Kiddu Buka. “They said they wanted to offer career guidance, but really they were trying to push me out,” he says. “They suggested I switch to Education.”

He responded with a pointed question: “If I became a teacher, how would I write on the blackboard or mark students’ books?” The panel fell silent. “I had the answers, but I did not help them,” he says with a chuckle.

They then proposed Social Work. But Julius stood his ground, arguing for affirmative action that would allow him to take alternative exams in place of visual-heavy papers.

Dr. Kiddu Buka supported him, telling the panel, “Julius is among my best five students. Let him study.” But the chair resisted, insisting he takes his brilliance to other courses. “That’s when I realized I had an enemy on the panel. I stopped answering and simply cried,” he admits.

They postponed the decision to a week later, but Julius later learned that others were lobbying and even attempting to bribe their way into the highly competitive program. “Only 20 students were admitted out of 2,000 applicants,” he says. “But I refused to give up. I told myself; I will be the first visually impaired journalist in Uganda.”

He graduated with no retakes, majoring in Public Relations. He completed internships across media disciplines: print at Daily Monitor, broadcast at UBC Radio and PR at Bank of Uganda.

One of his early breakthroughs came from George Lugalambi, a teaching assistant and freelance journalist then. “George took me along for a story interview and that is how my reporting journey began.” Lugalambi now heads the Africa Centre for Media Excellence in Uganda.

Battling workplace bias

Julius had mixed feelings as he prepared to enter the workforce. “I was worried,” he admits. “As a student, I had some essentials, but after graduation, I invested all my savings in a downtown business managed by a relative. It collapsed and I got nothing out of it.”

He shares his story with our senior communications officer.

He moved from office to office, applying for jobs, only to be met with rejection and prejudice. “Some secretaries would hurl insults or question whether I could do anything at all,” he recalls.

Eventually, he turned to freelance reporting at Daily Monitor. Around that time, 11 senior reporters left the paper to start The Crusader and Julius hoped their departure might create a spot for him on the payroll.

“I thought the doors had opened,” he says. But the editor in charge at the time had different advice: “Go into broadcast, you might make your breakthrough there.”

Julius later tried his luck at UBC, but the pattern continued. “People kept telling me I was a print expert,” he says. “I saw less qualified people get hired. That is when it hit me, my visual impairment was the barrier.”

Still, he made a mark as a freelancer. “I was good on the keyboard,” he says. “I’d ask a colleague to help edit my work.” At Daily Monitor, he wrote Face to Face interviews with prominent figures like the late Samson Kisekka and then Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. John Ssebuwufu.

Rising through the unexpected

Julius’ passion for disability advocacy deepened after writing articles on the subject, which led him to the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU). He was hired and assigned to oversee activities in Luwero and Mukono but chose to settle in Luwero, where he had two close friends.

Julius interacts with Cecilia after the interview

The project, launched in 1996, aimed to mobilize persons with disabilities to form advocacy groups for social and policy change. However, with the 1996 elections approaching and the 1995 Constitution freshly promulgated, including provisions for disability representation in parliament, the initiative was diverted.

“The project was hijacked for political mobilisation. Instead of four years of community work, all the funds were spent in one year campaigning for a team of five, all of whom made it to parliament. But the project collapsed, and we were laid off,” he recalls.

Jobless through 1997 and 1998, he returned to NUDIPU in 1999 at a senior level, heading advocacy, policy research and communications until 2005. That year, he received a Commonwealth Fellowship with Action on Disability and Development, gaining international experience and later conducting research on HIV/AIDS and disability. He also consulted for Sense International, focusing on deafblind persons and caregivers in East Africa.

His work with the African Union of the Blind in Nairobi as program coordinator for gender and youth development took him across the continent. He later became the first executive secretary of Uganda’s National Council for Disability in 2008.

In 2011, after a government merger of agencies, he applied for and was appointed Executive Director of the African Union of the Blind in 2012. “It was a mistake,” he says candidly. “I walked into a pool of issues, trying to mend broken relations with donors.”

He also served as General Secretary of the Uganda National Association of the Blind and in 2015, joined the Equal Opportunities Commission, where he currently serves as Commissioner in charge of education, training and communication.

Julius at a recent engagement on social protection.

Julius has been a board member of various organizations, including ChildFund Uganda (since 2011). He holds master’s degrees in Management Studies and Human Rights from Uganda Management Institute and Uganda Martyrs University, respectively. Although he considered a third master’s in Disability Studies, mentors advised him to pursue a PhD instead.

Reflecting on what shaped him most, he says, “Joining Madera School for the Blind changed everything. That is when I realized I was not alone. Calling it a motivator would be an understatement. It made me forget I even had a visual impairment.”

Out of ten siblings, Julius lost six to HIV, a painful reminder of life’s fragility and the value of opportunity.

Living beyond prognosis

Julius commended ChildFund Uganda for playing an instrumental role in shaping his journey, saying the support laid the foundation for the person he is today.

 “Children affected by disability or orphanhood are often overlooked, yet they carry immense potential. When supported, even in small ways, their lives can be completely transformed,”

He walks through the corridors of the Equal Opportunities Commission.

“Imagine if I had been left in Kayunga, what would I be today? But someone stepped in and now I am a responsible citizen contributing to my country. Supporting children with disabilities may seem like a long journey, but the return on that investment is life-changing for them and the communities they go on to serve.”

He advised program participants to grab the opportunity they have been given with both hands. “Don’t blame anyone for your situation. Rise above it and even the sky will not be the limit.”

Julius now mentors’ fellow persons with disabilities, encouraging them to shift focus from society’s negativity to their own inner strength and possibilities.

He has a wife, children and a family home in Bombo. His journey however continues to astonish medical professionals.

 “In the past, it was said that for every hundred children born with retinoblastoma, 90% do not live to see their fifth birthday. I lived up to it. They also said the remaining 10% do not live beyond 10 years. I am now 56 and counting. I am a living testimony.”