Kuto was born in a small village in Côte d’Ivoire. He was the youngest of four children and his parents were poor farmers. When Kuto was five years old, his father died from a snake bite. His mother could not afford to send all her children to school, so Kuto only attended for two years. When he was seven, his mother died from malaria. Kuto and his siblings were sent to live with their grandparents.
Kuto’s grandfather was a strict man who believed that hard work and discipline were the key to success in life. He put Kuto to work on the family farm as soon as he could walk. Kuto worked long hours in the hot sun, but he didn’t mind because it made him feel closer to his father. Unfortunately, the farm did not yield enough food to feed all of them and they often went hungry.
When Kuto turned thirteen, he had had enough of living in poverty and being treated like a child. He left home without telling anyone where he was going or what he planned to do with his life.”I’m going to make something of myself,” he thought as he walked away from everything he had ever known.”
