Wycliffe Sande, a man nobody wanted after being orphaned at the age of 12, now helps feed nearly 2,000 hungry children. The 42-year-old runs Blue Turaco Coffee, a company that funds school meals across Uganda by donating two meals for every bag of coffee sold.
A childhood marked by loss
Wycliffe's childhood changed forever when his father, John, died while he was just eight years old. His mother, Jennifer, suffered a devastating mental breakdown after the tragedy and was unable to care for the family. "She wasn't verbal for a whole year," he said. "That was when life really started for me."
From the age of eight, while other children played football after school, Wycliffe spent his evenings picking coffee beans, collecting firewood and fetching water to help keep his family alive and pay for school. He also walked five miles to school every day, often sitting through lessons hungry.
Nobody volunteered to care for him
Four years later, tragedy struck again when Jennifer died aged just 35. With both parents gone, relatives met to decide who would care for Wycliffe. Nobody volunteered. Eventually, his great-aunt's former husband, YY Yakoyasi, offered him a home after no one else stepped forward.
Despite everything he had endured, Wycliffe refused to give up on education, eventually earning a place to study law in London in 2005. After working for several multinational companies, he decided to build a business inspired by the crop that had helped him survive as a child.
Building a business that gives back
Realising Ugandan coffee was rarely sold under its own name despite the country being one of the world's largest producers, he founded Blue Turaco Coffee. Today, the company works directly with farming communities, paying growers a premium while funding school meals for almost 2,000 children.
"I understand exactly what it feels like to sit in school all day without food," Wycliffe said. "When lunchtime comes and some children can eat while others can't because they don't have money, that's heartbreaking. No child should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from while they're trying to learn."
Now splitting his time between Uganda and London with his wife, Cristina, and their three children, Wycliffe hopes his story proves that even the hardest childhood doesn't have to define the rest of your life. He said: "It's going to be very hard. You have to believe, almost delusionally, that you can do it. Don't let a lack of money, experience or contacts stop you."
