From an alcoholic to academic ace
Apr 10, 2009
ALTHOUGH he was devoted to booze in his youth, Rev. Medard Birungi is now a crusader against what was once his security. From being the third last in Senior Three at the height of his addiction, he has a PhD 25 years later.
By Ben Okiror
ALTHOUGH he was devoted to booze in his youth, Rev. Medard Birungi is now a crusader against what was once his security. From being the third last in Senior Three at the height of his addiction, he has a PhD 25 years later.
Because he knows the pain of growing up in a family torn by alcoholism, Birungi has established a primary school for children in similar circumstances.
Birungi, who was introduced to alcohol by his father at the age of three, became addicted to it at 17. He attributes this to depression, after his elder sister, who was going to pay his fees for secondary school, was killed.
Prior to that while Birungi was six, his father abandoned his mother with nine children and migrated elsewhere with five other wives and their children.
After P7, he sat home for a year and kept drinking to mask the depression, especially when he would see his former classmates returning for holidays. “By the end of the year, I couldn’t do without alcohol,†Birungi confesses.
Fortunately, at the end of that year, his mother had saved enough money from her sweat to take him to Senior One. In 1980, he joined Makobore High School.
The head teacher, Stanley Munabi accepted his mother’s request that Birungi be allowed to work as a school porter in exchange for school fees.
But because he was an addict, he joined a group of drunkards called “Kibanda Boys†who stole school property for sale. “My mother cried whenever I urinated and vomited on my mattress,†Birungi says.
By the time he was in Senior Three, he had stolen 25 textbooks, 27 plates and a lot of cutlery.
His turning point was on April 2, 1982 when the Anglican Youth Fellowship Choir from Makerere University visited their school. Birungi’s gang went to dance to the tunes of the “bandâ€.
While there, he observed that although the young people from campus were his age mates, they were happy. Birungi began weeping while wishing he was like them.
He recalls: “A girl called Christine Mugwanya introduced a song that said: ‘God loves you. He is your only security; it’s not your father, alcohol, education nor witchcraft. God won’t let you down."
Another girl confessed that she nearly killed her father for defiling her. Later, she confessed to her father and forgave him.
This infuriated Birungi, who swore never to forgive his father for abandoning them. He then decided to go see his mother. As the bus approached a bridge, Birungi felt an urge to confess and he stood up and named everyone he wanted to kill. He then fell down and cried loudly.
An old man embraced him. The old man prayed for him and Birungi felt like a heavy load had been lifted off him. When he got off the bus, the old man accompanied him home. He told Birungi’s mother “Your son is born again.†That was the end of his alcoholism.
He returned the books, clothes and cutlery he had stolen from school. Since then he started doing wonders. He was the second in class and in third term he was appointed the library prefect, since he knew the tricks of stealing books. He kept excelling in school. Now he has two bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and a PhD.
He is a happily married father of five. He is a senior lecturer at Kyambogo University and a chaplain at St. Kakumba chapel.
ALTHOUGH he was devoted to booze in his youth, Rev. Medard Birungi is now a crusader against what was once his security. From being the third last in Senior Three at the height of his addiction, he has a PhD 25 years later.
Because he knows the pain of growing up in a family torn by alcoholism, Birungi has established a primary school for children in similar circumstances.
Birungi, who was introduced to alcohol by his father at the age of three, became addicted to it at 17. He attributes this to depression, after his elder sister, who was going to pay his fees for secondary school, was killed.
Prior to that while Birungi was six, his father abandoned his mother with nine children and migrated elsewhere with five other wives and their children.
After P7, he sat home for a year and kept drinking to mask the depression, especially when he would see his former classmates returning for holidays. “By the end of the year, I couldn’t do without alcohol,†Birungi confesses.
Fortunately, at the end of that year, his mother had saved enough money from her sweat to take him to Senior One. In 1980, he joined Makobore High School.
The head teacher, Stanley Munabi accepted his mother’s request that Birungi be allowed to work as a school porter in exchange for school fees.
But because he was an addict, he joined a group of drunkards called “Kibanda Boys†who stole school property for sale. “My mother cried whenever I urinated and vomited on my mattress,†Birungi says.
By the time he was in Senior Three, he had stolen 25 textbooks, 27 plates and a lot of cutlery.
His turning point was on April 2, 1982 when the Anglican Youth Fellowship Choir from Makerere University visited their school. Birungi’s gang went to dance to the tunes of the “bandâ€.
While there, he observed that although the young people from campus were his age mates, they were happy. Birungi began weeping while wishing he was like them.
He recalls: “A girl called Christine Mugwanya introduced a song that said: ‘God loves you. He is your only security; it’s not your father, alcohol, education nor witchcraft. God won’t let you down."
Another girl confessed that she nearly killed her father for defiling her. Later, she confessed to her father and forgave him.
This infuriated Birungi, who swore never to forgive his father for abandoning them. He then decided to go see his mother. As the bus approached a bridge, Birungi felt an urge to confess and he stood up and named everyone he wanted to kill. He then fell down and cried loudly.
An old man embraced him. The old man prayed for him and Birungi felt like a heavy load had been lifted off him. When he got off the bus, the old man accompanied him home. He told Birungi’s mother “Your son is born again.†That was the end of his alcoholism.
He returned the books, clothes and cutlery he had stolen from school. Since then he started doing wonders. He was the second in class and in third term he was appointed the library prefect, since he knew the tricks of stealing books. He kept excelling in school. Now he has two bachelor’s and two master’s degrees and a PhD.
He is a happily married father of five. He is a senior lecturer at Kyambogo University and a chaplain at St. Kakumba chapel.