Oghano ne Mapeghu ntani Rico kuna kuyenda kudoropa navawina. Uye a hora kuyenda kudoropa. Doropa ne kunyanyuna! Kumona vininke vyavingi.
It’s Saturday and Rico is going to town with his mother. He likes going to town. Town is exciting! There are lots of things to see.
Rico kukwaterera kulivoko lyavawina. Mbunga yavantu kuna kupitauka.
Rico holds his mother’s hand very tightly. Streams of people are passing by.
Muna kara vitanda vana kughulita vininke vyaviwa ovyo vyatenda namavoko.
There are stalls selling beautiful handmade crafts.
Pana kara tumbahe twatudidi twavitondo oto vashonga, varughongoro na dimushuruwidi odo varughanita kutundarate namakwarara vyamaruvara ghamawa, naviranda varughanita kuvitemba vyavuta ghampo.
There are small giraffes carved out of wood, chameleons and lizards made out of wire and coloured beads, and jewellery made from ostrich egg shell.
Makura kuviyuva! Muntu kuna kushiva naliywi lyaliwa lya ‘nkenga yakutetukita.’ Nko kuyimana tanko a tegherere. Kuni vina kutundilira vino?
Then he hears it! Someone is whistling the sweet melody of ‘Amazing Grace.’ He stops to listen. Where is it coming from?
“Nda nakara niyuve muntu wakushiva nawa ngoli,” a ghayara kwanaumwendi.
“I’ve never heard anyone whistle so beautifully before,” he thinks to himself.
Nko kupena a pite mukatji Kavantu. Nko kumona mukafumu ogho ana kushivo. Vantu kuna kuturanga vingcengcere mukatoromani kakadidi kumeho yendi. Ene ngoli… Vininke vimwe kapi vina wapa…
He makes his way through the people. Then he sees the man who is whistling. People are putting coins into a small tin in front of him. But … something is wrong …
Mukafumu wakushiva kapi ana kukenga vantu. Kapi ana kukenga kumaliva. Kapi ana kukenga kenga kehe shino shininke. Kuna kushana-shana vingcengcere mushitoromani avi ture mulilimba lyendi.
The whistling man is not looking at the people. He is not looking at the money. He is not looking at anything. He’s searching for the coins in the tin and putting them into his pocket.
Rico nko kukengurura mukafumu wakushiva nakughayara, “walye mutwiku.” Rico nda a kara a mone shitwiku. Ana kara naghoma. Nko kukkateta kumushishi wavawina nakuva pura mukughoghota, “Yina, unya mukafumu ne shitwiku ndi?”
Rico stares at the whistling man and thinks, “Maybe he’s blind.” Rico has never seen a blind person before. He feels scared. He grabs his mother’s dress and asks softly, “Mommy, is that man blind?”
Nko kughupa livoko lyendi. “Nhii,” ava limburura, “nhii, shitwiku. Kenga, ana kara nakatondo kendi kakakenu. Shingi shavitwiku kushimba-shimba katondo kakakenu. Kurughanita katondo kano pakupapatera nakukayendaulita ntjeneshi pana kara makwina navilimbwikwa vimwe weyo.”
She takes his hand. “Yes,” she answers, “yes, he’s blind. Look, he has a white stick. Many blind people carry a white stick. He uses this stick to feel for holes and other obstacles.”
” Makura weni ngoli ana ya kuno kudoropa? Weni-weni ana pitauka mukatji kavantu navantje?” A pura Rico.
“But how did he come to town? How did he find his way through all the people?” Rico asks.
Vawina nko kumutantera, “Walye mpwali ogho ana muvatero kumupititira mundjira yendi. Muntu wa ngoli kimutwenya ashi mupititiliri wapamundinda.”
His mother tells him, “Maybe he has someone who helps him to find his way around. We call that person a guide.”
Ava yendi kulivango lyakushingira-shungira. Ramba damaroboti adi kutjindji dikare shinamahako, vahauto nko kuyimana and varwana vakuyenda parupadi va vindakane shihaura.
They walk to the zoopark. The traffic lights change to green, the cars stop and the pedestrians cross the street.
“Kenga ramba dashinamahako. Ntjeneshi adi kara shinamahako makura kuvhura tupu ngoli kuvindakana shitaura. Muvirongo vimwe kukarako nka nakamuyoyo yiya kakupembita,” vawina va Rico ava ghamba. “Vatwiki pakuyuva ngoli kamuyoyo kanya, vana yiva ngoli ashi kuvhura tupu ngoli kuvindakana shitaura.”
“Look at the green light. When it is green we can see it is safe to cross the road. In some countries there is also a beeping sound,” Rico’s mother says. “When blind people hear the beeping, they know it is safe to cross the road.”
Ava shungiri pamushoni washinamahako mulivango lyakupwiyumukira va kengere vantu ovo vana kupitauko. ” vatwiku vamwe va kara nambwa yakuva pititira,” ava ghamba vawina. ” Mbwa dino vadideura mwakunegheda ntjilyayo, ene ngoli dado ndiro shiri unene. MuNamibia kwa karo mo mbwa pititiro dadisheshu tupu.”
They sit on the green grass of the zoopark and watch the people walking by. “Some blind people have a guide dog,” his mother says. “These dogs are trained to guide their owner, but they are very expensive. There are very few guide dogs in Namibia.”
“Mukafumu wamutwiku nakuvhurashi kukengera telelivishi,” a ghamba Rico. “Kuvhura a yuve televishi na radio,” ava mutantere vawina varicose. “Vatwiku pavirugho vimwe kuyuva unene kupitaka varwana vakumona.”
“The blind man can’t watch TV,” Rico says. “He can hear the TV and radio,” Rico’s mother tells him. “Blind people can often hear things much better than people who can see.”
“Ene ngoli nakuvhurashi kuvaruta mbapira ndi shayitunga,” a ghamba Rico. “Mpodiri mbapira vatjanga mu Braille. Mulivango lyakutjanga nkango na inka, kwakarako tundjoto twakuyeruka twandanda. Kwa kara yira shiyivito.”
“But he can’t read books or newspapers,” says Rico. “There are books written in Braille. Instead of words printed with ink, there are raised dots which make letters. It’s like a code.”
” Weni ngoli omo avi varura ntjeneshi uye ne kwato kumona?” “Kuvarura namavoko ghendi. Kukwata tundjoto nanyara dendi, yira moomo wa kenganga ndanda namantjo ghoye.”
“How can he read if he can’t see?” “He reads with his hands. He feels the raised dots with his fingers, just like you see the letters with your eyes.”
Rico ana tetuka pakughayara ashi vatwiku navo kuvhura kurughana kehe vino vininke; vininke kiyendaura mudpropa, yira kushiva nakuyimba marushumo, yira kuvarura.
Rico is amazed to think that people who are blind can do everyday things; things like walking around in town, like whistling songs, like reading.
Vawina ava mu tantere, “opo mwakushuvira nove namutwiku ne ove ne kumona ene ngoli mutwiku ne nakumonashi.” “Ame ne kumona, ene ngoli nakuvhurashi kushiva naufughuli yira uylnya mukafumu washitwiku,” Rico a menyuna.
His mother tells him, “The only difference between you and a blind person is that you can see and a blind person can’t see.” “I can see, but I can’t whistle as beautifully as that blind man,” Rico smiles.
Written by: Magda Swartz
Illustrated by: Petrus Amuthenu
Translated by: Peter Linyando Likoro
Language: Rumanyo
Level: Level 4
Source: The whistling man from African Storybook
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.