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Kwa toropo-kgolong e e pheteselang ya
Nairobi, kgakala le botshelo jo bo bothito
jwa kwa gae, go ne go dula basimane ba
ba dulang kwa mebileng. Ba ne ba
amogela letsatsi le lengwe le lengwe
jaaka le ne le tlhaba.
Moso mongwe basimane ba ne ba mena
meseme ya bona fa ba tsoga. Ba ne ba
robala mo fatshe mo samenteng se se
maruru. Ba ne ba gotsa molelo ka
matlakala go leleka serame.
Mo setlhopeng se sa basimane, go ne go
nale mongwe a bidiwa Magozwe. O ne a
le monnye mo go bone.
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.
Batsadi ba ga Magozwe ba tlhokafetse a
na le dingwaga tse tlhano fela. O ile a ya
go dula le malomagwe. Monna yo o ne a
sa kgathalele ngwana. O ne a sa fe
Magozwe dijo sentle. O ne a mo berekisa
jaaka lekgoba.
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.
Fa Magozwe a ne a ngongorega kgotsa a
botsa dipotso, o ne a ntewa botlhoko. Fa
Magozwe a ne a botsa gore a ka ya
sekolong, malomagwe o ne a mo betsa
mme a re, “O seeleele se segolo gore o
ka ithuta sengwe.”
Morago ga dingwaga tse tharo tsa
tshotlakako e, Magozwe o ile a tshaba. O
ile a tshimolola go dula kwa mebileng.
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.
Botshelo jwa mebila bo ne bo le thata
mme go ne go le thata mo basimaneng
go bona fela sa go ja. Ka matsatsi
mangwe ba ne ba tshwarwa, matsatsi
mangwe ba ne ba ntewa. Fa ba ne ba
lwala, go ne go se kwa ba ka bonang
thuso gona.
Setlhopa se sa basimane se ne se tshela
ka madinyana a ba neng ba a bona ka go
kopa, le go rekisa dipolasetiki le go
rekisa dilo tse di ka dirisiwang gape.
Botshelo bo ne bo le bokete thata ka
ntlha ya dintwa magareng ga basimane
ba ba neng ba batla go laola dikarolo
dingwe tsa toropo-kgolo.
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.
Ka letsatsi lengwe fa Magozwe a ntse a
batlana le dijo mo matlakaleng, o ile a
bona buka e e gagogileng ya dipadi. O ile
a ntsha leswe mme a e tsenya mo
mokotlaneng wa gagwe.
Letsatsi le lengwe le lengwe morago ga
moo, o ne a ntsha buka e mme a lebelela
ditshwantsho. O ne a sa itse go buisa
mafoko.
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.
Ditshwantsho tsa padi e di ne di bua ka
ga mosimane yo o ileng a gola go nna
mofofisi wa sefofane.
Magozwe o ne ka gale a lora gonna
mofofisi wa sefofane. Ka matsatsi a
mangwe, o ne a ipona e le ena mosimane
yo o mo pading.
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.
Go ne go le maruru thata mme Magozwe
o ne a eme mo thoko ga tsela a kopa.
Monna mongwe a tla kwa go ena.
“Dumela, ke nna Tomase. Ke dira gaufi le
mo, ko tulong e o ka bonang dijo teng,”
ga rialo monna yo.
A supa ntlo e e serolwane e e nang le
marulelo a botala jwa legodimo. “Ke
tshepa gore o tla ya moo go ya go batla
dijo?’’ monna yo a botsa. “Ka gongwe,” a
bua a tsamaya.
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.
Morago fa dikgwedi di ntse di tsamaya,
basimane ba ne ba tlwaetse go bona
Tomase moo. O ne a rata go bua le
batho, bogolo-segolo batho ba ba dulang
mo mebileng.
Tomase o ne a reetsa dipadi tsa
matshelo a batho. O ne a a le pelo-telele,
ebile a le maitseo.
Basimane ba bangwe ba ne ba
tshimolola go ya kwa ntlong e e
serolwane go ya go batla dijo tsa
motshegare.
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 o ne a dutse mo thoko ga tsela
a lebeletse buka ya ditshwantsho fa
Tomase a tla go dula mo thoko ga
gagwe.
“ Padi e e bua ka eng? ” ga botsa
Tomase.
“ Ke ka mosimane yo o nnang mofofisi
wa sefofane,” ga araba Magozwe.
“Leina la mosimane ke mang?” ga botsa
Tomase.
“Ga ke itse, ga ke itse go buisa,” ga rialo
Magozwe a buela kwa tlase.
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.
Fa ba kopana, Magozwe o ile a
tshimolola go bolelela Tomase ka ga
botshelo jwa gagwe. E ne ele ka ga
malomagwe le gore goreng a tshabile.
Tomase o ne a sa bue thata, ebile o ne a
sa bolelele Magozwe gore a dire eng,
mme o ne a reetsa ka tlhoafalo ka dinako
tsotlhe.
Ka nako tse dingwe ba ne ba bua fa ba
ntse ba ja kwa ntlong ya marulelo a
botala jwa legodimo.
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.
Go isa kwa matsatsing a botsalo jwa ga
Magozwe jwa dingwaga tse lesome,
Tomase o ne a fa Magozwe buka. E ne e
le padi ka ga mosimane wa kwa
magaeng o o golang go nna setshameki
se se itsegeng sa kgwele ya dinao.
Tomase o ne a buisetsa Magozwe padi
eo makgetlo a mantsi, go fitlhela letsatsi
lengwe a re,
“Ke nagana gore ke nako ya gore o tsene
sekolo o ithute go buisa.Wena o nagana
eng?”
Tomase a tlhalosa gore o itse tulo e bana
ba ka dulang teng le go ya sekolong.
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 o ne a nagana ka tulo e
ntšhwa e, le ka go ya sekolong. Ka
gongwe malomagwe o ne a bua nnete
mme ke motlapa fela o o sa kgoneng go
ithuta sepe?
Fa a ka fitlha a ntewa kwa tulong e
ntšhwa? O ne a tshogile. “Ka gongwe go
botoka ke nna gona mo mebileng,” a
nagana.
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.
O ile a bolelela Tomase letshogo la
gagwe. Ka dinako tsotlhe Tomase o ne a
tshepisa mosimane gore botshelo bo tla
tokafala kwa tulong e ntšhwa.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Jaanong Magozwe a ya go dula kwa
phaposing ya ntlo ya marulelo a a
serolwane. O ne a dula le basimane ba
bangwe ba babedi.
Palo ya bana ba ba neng ba dula kwa ba
ne ba le lesome. Gammogo le
mmangwane Puleng le monna wa
gagwe, dintšwa tse tharo, katse le podi
ya motsofe.
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 o ne a tshimolola sekolo mme
go ne go le boima. O ne a saletse kwa
morago thata.
Ka dinako tse dingwe o ne a batla go
ineela . Mme fela a nagana ka mofofisi
wa sefofane le motshameki wa kgwele
ya dinao mo dipading. Jaaka bona, o ne
a seka a ineela.
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 o ne a dutse mo jarateng kwa
ntlong ya marulelo a a serolwane, a buisa
buka ya dipadi go tswa kwa sekolong.
Tomase o ile a tla go dula mo thoko ga
gagwe.
“Padi e e bua ka eng?” ga botsa Tomase.
“Ke ka mosimane yo o nnang
morutabana,” ga araba Magozwe.
“Leina la mosimane ke mang?” ga botsa
Tomase.
“Leina la gagwe ke Magozwe,” ga rialo
Magozwe ka monyebo.
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.
