After the recent intervention by Bravo Shoes Community Support Organization (BSCS) to reunite street-connected children with their families, 10-year-old Victory Anunda, also known as Mathew Ainomugisha, finally reconnected with his mother.
Victory, from Ishongororo in Ibanda District, Western Uganda, was among the many children appealing for public and organizational support to reunite with their families and access education for a brighter future.
The moment he met his mother was nothing short of emotional. Standing amidst the chaos of their self-proclaimed Sun City Ghetto hub—tucked under the Nakivubo channel near Entebbe, close to the new Clock Tower—Victory watched as his mother, Immaculate Kyomuhendo, arrived after a long journey. She had traveled 356 kilometers from Ishongororo to Kampala on a Goldline Bus, leaving home at 10:30 p.m. and arriving at 6:30 a.m.
Tears streamed down her face as she set eyes on the son she had lost for years. “I can’t express my happiness; only God knows what I feel today,” she sobbed. “He even changed his name… His name is Victory Anunda.”
Kyomuhendo recalled how, three years after Anunda was born, a misunderstanding with his father, David Anunda, led her to leave and remarry.
Her new husband loved the boy dearly, but after having two more children, tragedy struck—her husband passed away, leaving her to raise all three alone. Struggling to provide, she watched as Victory wrestled with the pain of their hardship.
His biological father remained absent and offered no support, leaving the boy with little hope for education or a stable future.
Now, as mother and son embraced after years of separation, their reunion marked the beginning of a new chapter—one filled with hope, healing, and the possibility of a better tomorrow.
“I can’t express my happiness; only God knows what I am feeling today; he changed his name. His name is Victory Anunda…” she sobs
Kyomuhendo narrated that those 3 years after Anunda was born, she got a misunderstanding with his father, David Anunda, and she left with Anunda and got married. She says that his stepfather loved the boy so much.
However, after giving birth to two other siblings, the stepfather died and remained alone, raising Anunda with his siblings. The boy could not hold the pain of seeing his mother suffer, yet Anunda’s father was absent and irresponsible because he could not provide any support or school fees to Anunda.
Why Anunda Ran Away from Home
For nearly two years, Immaculate Kyomuhendo lived with the pain of not knowing where her son, Victory Anunda, had gone. She suspects that his decision to run away may have stemmed from an incident at school—perhaps fear of punishment or bullying.
“One day at school, they were given a test. I think he didn’t perform well. When the teacher promised to punish him, he ran away without even taking his bag,” she recalled. “He didn’t tell me the whole story of what happened at school. He came home, and I prepared lunch, but he said he was going for preps. He never returned.”
Kyomuhendo had no idea that Anunda was planning to leave. She waited anxiously for him, hoping he would come back.
“I stayed up until 1:00 a.m., but he never returned. I thought, ‘Let me wait and check at school in the morning.’ When I got there, they told me he had left at break time and never came back. I was devastated. I was only left to commit suicide—it wasn’t easy losing my boy,” she said.
Desperate to find him, Kyomuhendo involved the police and the community in the search.
“I reported the case to the police and community radios. We searched everywhere but failed to trace him. I prayed and fasted daily, asking God to protect him and bring him back to me. I begged God to lead him to someone who would help him or guide him home,” she sobbed.
She also recalled that, sometime before he disappeared, Anunda had spoken about his dreams of making money to support his family.
“His conviction was strong. In one of our conversations, he told me that one day he would go out, work, and return home with lots of money to change my life. I told him to be patient, to go to school, and that he would get a good job,” she said.
Looking back, Kyomuhendo now wonders if Anunda had been planning to leave all along.
How Kyomuhendo Found Victory
After nearly two years of searching, Bravo Shoes Community Support Organization (BSCS) discovered a group of street-connected children from different parts of the country who had made the Sun City Ghetto hub their home.
These children, driven by hope for a better future, faced daily struggles—stigma, hunger, poor health, and lack of basic needs. Among them was Victory Anunda, also known as Mathew Ainomugisha, who shared his story with the Bravo Shoes media team.
Anunda recounted how he had boarded a bus called Freedom Bus, hoping to find his mother, but instead found himself stranded in Kampala. His longing for home never faded.
“I have spent one year here on the streets of Kampala. I am looking for my mother, and I want to go back home,” he said, his voice heavy with sadness.
His plight eventually went viral on social media, leading to his mother, Immaculate Kyomuhendo, learning about her missing son.
When asked if she had informed Anunda’s father, Kyomuhendo said she had reached out to him—but he remained indifferent.
As for why he changed his name, Anunda revealed that school bullies often mocked him through his birth name, twisting it into insults.
“They used to call me ‘Arunda’—meaning shepherd of plastic waste—just to make fun of me,” he explained.
Seeing his mother again at the Sun City Ghetto hub brought him immense relief.
“I feel good to see my mother. Uncle Bravo called me through Tea Bug, but I was sleeping. I had to let go of my name, Victory Anunda, because I thought it was a bad name. They used to insult me and call me scrap,” he shared.
Now, Anunda dreams of going back to school—but not his former one. Before running away, he had been in Primary Four at Ishongororo Parents’ School. With a second chance at life, he hopes for a fresh start in a new learning environment.
