Mr Johnny, an avid Arsenal and Uganda Cranes fan, lives with
his wife, 2 daughters, 1 son and 2 cows in rural Buikwe, about an hour away
from Jinja. Although a football fan and a star volleyball player, Johnny
remains a family man, and loves spending time with his parents and tending the
family cows.
Johnny studied at school until S5, after he finished his O
Levels, where he preferred maths and science. He then moved to a technical
school, to study carpentry, followed by brick-laying and concrete practice.
Johnny, an expert in ISSB, helps check all the blocks meet his high standards
Originally ‘John 3’, joined HYT as a trainee at HYT’s first
One Village at a Time project, 1V1 at Kasokaso. He joined the project at 3R’s
school in Buikwe district having spent some time as a mason, but struggling to
find work in rural Uganda, and eager to learn a new method of building. In
2008, Johnny learnt how to use ISSB technology well and efficiently, and
graduated through HYT’s training project. Johnny then made attempts to become a
private contractor using ISSB technology. Johnny told us that his favourite
thing about HYT was this very aspect – that the charity encourages it’s
trainees to do their own work and teaches people to be independent by going
into private contracting. Between 2009 and 2012, he lead a team to build 2
water tanks and a kitchen, but he found that it was hard working in rural
Buikwe district, where work was hard to come by.
Mr Johnny and Mr Wyndham discuss plans for Mutai
Having showed to HYT that he believed in the technology and
that he was able to lead a team, HYT’s previous Country Manager Sam and
Operations Manager Philip asked Johnny to lead a HYT team to build at Lord’s
Meade Vocational College in 2012, and Johnny was very successful in leading his
team from Kasokaso.
Later that year, Johnny was appointed as Independent Project
Manager and asked to lead a team to start Phase 1 of building at Mutai. 2 years
on, and Mutai is now one of the most successful projects ever completed by HYT,
and one of the smartest looking builds, including 2 classroom blocks, 2 science
labs, an exam hall, a kitchen and one water tank so far.
Johnny oversees block production at Mutai
Come back later to read more of Johnny’s story and his future at HYT…