Elite prom helicopter saga and the small matter of where ‘rich kids’ end up in real life

You see, schools like Namilyango attract lots of very wealthy families – they know the importance of a first-class education and having children in a top school adds more consistency to the prestige and profile they (parents) enjoy in society as middle-class citizens. And strategically, there is the added advantage that in life, many doors open almost automatically because of the networks cultivated at such schools. 

After a few awkward moments, about seven students raised their hands and stepped onto the platform.

The good tax collector gave each of the seven children a few banknotes for their candidness. Then he turned to the rest of the assembly and told them, “Each and every one of you here is poor.” 

The assembly broke into an uproar, but the tax collector (I highly doubt that tax collectors have trivial things like hearts or feelings) wasn’t bothered.

He waited for the kids to calm down and then explained that just because their parents have money doesn’t mean they too, have money. That money, he explained, was for their parents. The kids would have to make their own money. Until then, he said, they were poor. Very poor!

There has been plenty of hullabaloo about the recent prom event at Elite High School, near Entebbe, where a helicopter flew in certain children, while fleets of high-end cars drove in the others. People are up in arms! Government – idle and bereft of ideas as usual – has declared intent to regulate such events. 

I was 12 when I joined Namilyango College 40 years ago; and I, a teacher’s son, thought our family was well-off, until I entered the college and came face-to-face with wealth, luxury and sheer opulence. Some children had more eats in their lockers than the entire stock of the lone shop in my village. We had children who never once stepped into the dining hall. And even when the government of the day was managing an economy defined by scarcity, many children had more money than the teachers.

So, what happens to “rich kids” in real life? At least in our neck of the woods, most of the wealthiest among us were not in the “rich kid” ranks back then: No matter how powerful the eagle, her eaglets must learn to fly on their own. Some of the rich children made it and are doing well; but a good number died early or got wasted, thanks to drugs, alcohol or whatever else.

The Bible says time and chance happen to us all. Life has lots of little surprises: Governments get out of power. Wars do break out. Parents die. Businesses collapse. Stuff happens. What makes a difference is whether or not the children acquire a good education, live uprightly and exploit their full potential to become everything God made them to be. 

Parents should focus on the end-game: is my child growing aright? Are they getting a decent education? Is he or she God-fearing and law-abiding? Are they properly equipped to take life on with confidence and courage?

Are they cultivating the right friendships - decent people who will walk with them through the journey of life, or are they the companions of fools? Do they have the necessary skill set to handle adversity? 

At 53, I have learnt that having rich parents doesn’t mean you will be rich and having poor parents doesn’t mean you will be poor – it all boils down to working hard, in school and after school. 

No matter how tall your father is, you have to do your own growing. No matter how much money your father has, you need to make your own money. And the man whose father bought a car for him is not worthy to sit at the table of men who ride bicycles that they bought with their own money.

Mr Gawaya Tegulle is an advocate of the High Court of Uganda, [email protected]