Boy, 10, in Kasese exchanges letters with President Obama

Kasese

If there is any head of State many Ugandans would wish to meet, that would be US President Barack Obama. Ten-year-old Christopher Kule, a primary four pupil at Rwentutu Christian Primary school in Kasese District has the same dream and while he has not yet met the President, you could say he is a step ahead of the rest. This is because Kule received a letter from White House, after having written to the American President.

The soft-spoken pupil believes that after exchanging letters with the US president, there is hope that the two will meet one day. It all started when Kule wrote a letter during a class exercise when they were tasked to write a letter to anyone seeking help on community issues.

Kule’s letter caught the eye of the American student teacher doing internship at his school in Rwentutu, who claimed his grandmother was a friend to a White House aide and promised to send the letter to the President. “I just decided to write to the President of America because I thought he would solve Uganda’s problems,” Kule explains. He said his letter requested America to support Uganda in curbing insurgency and promoting peace. His teacher, Mr Dasiel Rau promised that he would post his letter to the White House in Washington. A few days later, he reported that the letter had been received and sent to the President’s office.

Obama replied, and in his response, a letter dated July 10, this year accompanied with a signed portrait, the US president Obama addressed issues of human rights and conflicts in Africa and the Mideast. In the letter, Obama said: “I am committed to reinvigorating America’s leadership on a range of international human rights issues because the US opposes the use of violence and repression against men and women.”

Obama said the violence that has led to rape, murder and torture of innocent people in Sudan, Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo has become a stain on the collective conscience. He told Kule that there is no nation that should be silent in the fight against human rights violation. The jovial Kule says he looks forward to meeting Obama.

“I am very happy to have received a reply from Obama and I have kept everything properly because my hope is to meet him one day. If he comes to Uganda, I need to meet him and if he wants me to go and live with him in America, I am ready,” Kule said.

The boy, who wants to be a medical doctor in future, says there is need for a pupil to have a peaceful environment in order to study well. He reasons that since America is a superpower, it can influence issues of security in Uganda. For now, he is sticking close to the treasured items. His father Mr Semu Kahulho says his son does not want to spend any moment away from his letter and the portrait.

“He has sometimes gone with them to church and even sleeps with them. He treats the materials as his treasure since he believes nobody else in the district has ever exchanged letters with the US President,” Mr Kahulhu said.

FROM DAILY MONITOR