‘Thank you, Teacher Leanne, I will never forget you.‘ Arthur Timothy said as he turned his gaze towards me. The room was packed full of parents and teachers. The internal wooden walls that separated primary three and four had been removed for the day. Parents were squeezed into rows of chairs carried in earlier. The hot African sun held at the makeshift windows. Arthur Timothy stood at the front, pride of place. His tiny hand holding the microphone. Behind him the off-coloured green/grey blackboard was covered with Luganda words, etched there with white chalk. A luminous pink juggling ball lay on the dusty ground in front of it. He was wearing his full school uniform. Black trousers that were a little too short in the leg. A grey jumper one size too big for him. We had all dressed for the occasion. Me in my best frock with the grey and cream leopard print design. I’d saved it especially for that day. He was small for his age and his pearly white teeth shone from his dark face and shaven head. For such a young boy he had shared his message with ease, and made the parents laugh. All eyes had remained on him the whole time. How was I going to say goodbye to these children? My heart was full, my smile visible for all to see. ‘Thank you, Arthur Timothy, and well done.‘ I said, as I nodded back at him.
A few days later, before I left Uganda, he handed me a letter.
This is Arthur. He was 10 years old and in Primary 4 when he wrote it.
That letter now lives inside my phone case.
It travels with me everywhere – into every coaching session, every workshop, every conversation. Across time zones and continents, from the Dordogne to wherever my clients are calling from.
I carry it as a reminder of why this work matters – and who it ultimately serves.
Arthur didn’t know he was writing something that would stay with me long after I left Bbembe. He wrote what he felt. From the heart. That quality – when it arrives in a coaching session – is where everything begins.
And it’s why a portion of everything I earn through coaching continues to support children like Arthur at Wisdom Junior School in Uganda. Because when someone invests in their own growth, the ripple travels further than they know.
