“Kisenyi” is a slum area of Kampala, Uganda.  Lutalo is a true “Kisenyi boy”!  Walking through alleyways and mountains of steaming garbage where few visitors and certainly no cars pass, this polite young man is in his element.
For many years he lived in a tiny mud shack room with his adoring mother who was severely and permanently disabled.  The walls were covered with pictures of Robert that she collected throughout his childhood.  Robert never met his father – a Tanzanian soldier who was fighting against the Obote regime some 22 years ago.  “Lutalo” the name given to him means “son of war”.


Seeking a better life, Robert’s mum brought him to the city when he was still very young and begged in and around the taxi park for many years.  Each night they would go back to the tiny room.  When he was older Robert became involved with Tigers Club, RETRAK’s partner organisation in Uganda, and soon joined their football club, Tigers FC, where his skills were quickly noticed.

His mother suffered a series of illnesses and the way Robert carried her to the other side of the city to receive treatment was evidence of his devotion towards her.  She died in October 1999 and Tigers then committed to support him first through the rest of primary school and then at vocational training college where he studied catering. 

Robert graduated and was employed at Kampala’s first fast food restaurant for three years.  Since leaving in 2004 he has found employment at the Infectious Diseases Institute at Mulago Hospital where his hard work, determination and humour despite difficult circumstances have earned him lots of respect.