Moshilando oshinene shu udha omaipyakidhilo moNairobi, omwa kala okangundu kamati yaa na omalukalwa mpoka haa zi, onkalamwenyo ndjoka ya li ya yooloka thilu thilu konkalamwenyo ombwanawa yokegumbo. Esiku kehe ohaye li taamba ko ngaashi lye ya. Ongula yesiku limwe aamati mbaka oya li taa tonyo po iinguma yawo sho ya penduka polupanda lwa talala mpoka haa lala. Oya tema omulilo mendoloma lyiiyagaya opo ya huhulukwe. Mongundu yaamati omwa li gumwe omushonalela kwaayehe, gwedhina Magozwe.
In the busy city of Nairobi, far away from a caring life at home, lived a group of homeless boys. They welcomed each day just as it came.
On one morning, the boys were packing their mats after sleeping on cold pavements. To chase away the cold they lit a fire with rubbish.
Among the group of boys was Magozwe. He was the youngest.
Aakuluntu yaMagozwe oya si manga a li e na owala oomvula ntano. Magozwe okwa yi a ka kale puhekulu. Omulumentu nguka okwa li kee na ko nasha nokanona, ihe ka pe iikulya ya gwana. Okwa li wo he ka longitha iilonga oyindji niidhigu.
When Magozwe’s parents died, he was only five years old. He went to live with his uncle. This man did not care about the child. He did not give Magozwe enough food. He made the boy do a lot of hard work.
Uuna Magozwe a ngongota nenge a pula sha, hekulu ohe mu dhenge. Ngele okwa pula ngele ota vulu okuya kosikola, hekulu ohe mu dhenge e ta ti: “Ngoye omugoya ito ka ilonga mo sha mosikola.” Konima yoomvula ndatu e li monkalo ndjika, Magozwe okwa fadhuka po e ta ka kala momapandaanda.
If Magozwe complained or questioned, his uncle beat him. When Magozwe asked if he could go to school, his uncle beat him and said, “You’re too stupid to learn anything.”
After three years of this treatment Magozwe ran away from his uncle. He started living on the street.
Onkalo yomomapandaanda oya li ondhigu naanona oyendji oya hupu shokadhila kombinga yiikulya. Poompito dhimwe oya mangwa po. Uuna taa ehama kapwa li ngoka e ya kwatha. Oya li haa hupu unene mokuhehela nenge mokulanditha oonayilona niinima yilwe yokulongululwa. Onkalamwenyo oya li hayi dhigupalekwa ishewe komalugodhi ngoka haga tukuka pokati kaamati uuna taa kondjele okukala pomahala gontumba.
Street life was difficult and most of the boys struggled daily just to get food. Sometimes they were arrested, sometimes they were beaten. When they were sick, there was no one to help.
The group depended on the little money they got from begging, and from selling plastics and other recycling.
Life was even more difficult because of fights with rival groups who wanted control of parts of the city.
Esiku limwe Magozwe manga a li ta hadha mendoloma lyiiyagaya okwi itsu mo okambo okakulu kuuhokololo. Okwe ka pupula ekako e te ka tula moshako ye. Esiku kehe ohe ka kutha e ta tala omafano, oshoka ka li e shi okulesha.
One day while Magozwe was looking through the dustbins, he found an old tattered storybook. He cleaned the dirt from it and put it in his sack.
Every day after that he would take out the book and look at the pictures. He did not know how to read the words.
Ehokololo olya li tali popi kombinga yokamati hoka ka koko noka ningi omuhingindhila. Magozwe okwi itungile uugumbo andola a ninge wo omuhingindhila. Pethimbo limwe ohi ihalele andola oye a li okamati hoka ka popiwa mehokololo.
The pictures told the story of a boy who grew up to be a pilot.
Magozwe would daydream of being a pilot. Sometimes, he imagined that he was the boy in the story.
Okwa li kwa talala naMagozwe okwa li a thikama poompagiila dhondjila ta hehela. Omulumentu gumwe okwe ya puye. “Halow, ongame Thomas. Ohandi longo lwopopepi mpaka, pehala mpoka ngoye to vulu okumona iikulya.” Omulumentu osho a ti. Ye ta ulike egumbo eshunga li na iipeleki iimbulawu. “Ondi inekela oto ka ya ngaa kehala hoka wu ka mone iikulya?” Omulumentu te mu pula. Magozwe okwa tala komulumentu nopo nduno okegumbo ndyoka. “Ngiika,” Magozwe ta yamukula e ta pilamene ko e ta yi.
It was cold and Magozwe was standing on the road begging. A man walked up to him. “Hello, I’m Thomas. I work near here, at a place where you can get something to eat,” said the man.
He pointed to a yellow house with a blue roof. “I hope you will go there to get some food?” he asked.
Magozwe looked at the man, and then at the house. “Maybe,” he said, and walked away.
Oomwedhi dha ka landula ko okamati kaa na kandjawo oka kala haka mono tuu Thomas olwindji pehala mpoka. Okwa li e hole okupopitha aantu, unene mboka yaa na mpoka haa zi noya kala owala momapandaanda. Thomas okwa li e hole okupulakena omahokololo goonkalamwenyo dhaantu. Okwa li hi itula mo ye omunambili, iha gandagula aantu ye oku na esimaneko. Aamati yamwe oya tameke okuya kegumbo lyolwaala olushunga niipeleki iimbulawu ya ka lye omwiha pethimbo lyomutenya.
Over the months that followed, the homeless boys got used to seeing Thomas around. He liked to talk to people, especially people living on the streets.
Thomas listened to the stories of people’s lives. He was serious and patient, never rude or disrespectful. Some of the boys started going to the yellow and blue house to get food at midday.
Magozwe okwa li a kuutumba polupanda ta tala omafano mokambo ke sho Thomas e ya e ta kuutumba puye. “Ehokololo otali popi kombinga yashike?” Thomas ta pula. “Otali popi kombinga yokamati ka ningi omuhingindhila.” Magozwe ta yamukula. “Edhina lyokamati olini?” Thomas ta pula ishewe. “Kandi shiwo, ngame kandi shi okulesha.” Magozwe osho a yamukula ta popile pevi.
Magozwe was sitting on the pavement looking at his picture book when Thomas sat down next to him.
“What is the story about?” asked Thomas.
“It’s about a boy who becomes a pilot,” replied Magozwe.
“What’s the boy’s name?” asked Thomas.
“I don’t know, I can’t read,” said Magozwe quietly.
Sho ya tsakanene ishewe, Magozwe okwa hokololele Thomas ehokololo lyonkalamwenyo ye. Olya li ehokololo lyahekulu naashoka she mu fadhukitha po. Thomas ina popya popya, ye ina lombwela Magozwe shoka ta ningi, okwa pulakene i itula mo. Ethimbo limwe oya kundathana manga taa li megumbo lyiipeleki iimbulawu.
When they met, Magozwe began to tell his own story to Thomas. It was the story of his uncle and why he ran away.
Thomas didn’t talk a lot, and he didn’t tell Magozwe what to do, but he always listened carefully.
Sometimes they would talk while they ate at the house with the blue roof.
Pevalo lye sho a gwanitha oomvula omulongo, Thomas okwe mu pe okambo okape kuuhokololo. Oka li taka popi kombinga yokamati kokomikunda hoka ka koko e taka ningi omudhanitanga dhingi a simana. Thomas okwa lesha ehokololo ndyoka olwindjilwindji. Navulwa esiku limwe okwa ti kuye, “Otandi dhiladhila olyo ethimbo ngashingeyi wu ye kosikola wu ki ilonge okulesha. Oto dhiladhila ngiini?” Thomas okwe mu fatululile kutya oku shi ehala limwe mpoka aanona taa vulu okukala haa zi sho taa yi kosikola.
Around Magozwe’s tenth birthday, Thomas gave him a new storybook. It was a story about a village boy who grew up to be a famous soccer player.
Thomas read that story to Magozwe many times, until one day he said, “I think it’s time you went to school and learned to read. What do you think?” Thomas explained that he knew of a place where children could stay, and go to school.
Magozwe okwa li ta dhiladhila kombinga yehala ndika epe, nokombinga yokuya kosikola. Pamwe hekulu okwa li e li mondjila sho a tile ye omugoya ite ki ilonga sha mosikola? Pamwe otaye ke mu dhenga pehala epe? Okwa li a tila. “Pamwe oshihwepo okukala owala momapandaanda,” osho a dhiladhila.
Magozwe thought about this new place, and about going to school. What if his uncle was right and he was too stupid to learn anything?
What if they beat him at this new place? He was afraid. “Maybe it is better to stay living on the street,” he thought.
Okwa lombwele Thomas uumbanda we. Ethimbo nethimbo Thomas okwa kala te mu kumike kutya onkalamwenyo ohayi vulu okukala ombwanawa ngele a yi pehala epe.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Magozwe okwa mono olukalwa olupe mondunda yi li megumbo lyiipeleki ya ziza. Okwa li ye li mondunda yimwe naamati ooyakwawo ye li yaali. Aanona ayehe kumwe oya li ye li omulongo mboka haa zi megumbo ndyoka. Oya li mo nomukulukadhi edhina lye Cissy nomusamane gwe, oombwa ndatu, okambishi noshikombo oshikulupe.
And so Magozwe moved into a room in a house with a green roof. He shared the room with two other boys.
Altogether there were ten children living at that house. Along with Auntie Cissy and her husband, three dogs, a cat, and an old goat.
Magozwe okwa tameke osikola nosha li oshidhigu. Okwa li a thigala po noonkondo. Pethimbo limwe okwa li a teka omukumo nokwa hala oku yi etha po. Ashike okwa dhiladhila ehokololo lyomuhingindhila nomudhanitanga. Ngaashi tuu yo, naye ina hala wo okuteka omukumo.
Magozwe started school and it was difficult. He had a lot to catch up. Sometimes he wanted to give up.
But he thought about the pilot and the soccer player in the storybooks. Like them, he did not give up.
Magozwe okwa li a kuutumba molugumbo lwegumbo lyiipeleki ya ziza konima yootundi, ta lesha okambo kuuhokololo. Thomas okwe ya e ta kuutumba pooha dhe. “Ehokololo otali popi kombinga yashike?” Thomas ta pula. “Otali popi kombinga yokamati hoka ka ningi omulongisikola,” Magozwe ta yamukula. “Edhina lyokamati olini?” “Edhina lyako olyo Magozwe,” Magozwe ta yamukula neimemeho.
Magozwe was sitting in the yard at the house with the green roof, reading a storybook from school. Thomas came up and sat next to him.
“What is the story about?” asked Thomas.
“It’s about a boy who becomes a teacher,” replied Magozwe.
“What’s the boy’s name?” asked Thomas.
“His name is Magozwe,” said Magozwe with a smile.
