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Dɔɔbili mine da gaa la tentɔɔre kaŋa naŋ di Nairobi poɔ. Ba da ba nyerɛ noɔ na ba naŋ da dire ba teŋa ane ba yie poɔ. Ba da ba taa kpɛzie a be. Ba deɛ da bebe la a lɛ bebiri la bebiri za naŋ pɔge ba. Bebimaaroŋ kaŋa, a dɔɔbilii bama da iri pilli la ba sɛnne kyɛ maale bũũ a na kare a ɔɔre bare. A bie kaŋa yuori la Magozwe. O naŋ da la ba zaa poɔ bibile.
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.
Magozwe dɔgebo yuono anuu saŋa la ka o saa kpi. O saabile zie la ka o da kpeɛrɛ. A dɔɔ da ba kaara o velaa. O da ba maŋ ko o bondirii ka o di tege. O da maŋ e la ka bie toŋ a yiriŋ toŋkpeɛne zaa.
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.
Ka Magozweŋ da wa ŋmoonɔ yɛlɛ bee a boɔrɔ ka o soore yɛlɛ kaŋa kyare a o dɔgɛɛ ŋa, a saabile maŋ ŋmɛ o la yaga. Magozwe naŋ da wa yeli ka o boɔra la ka o gaa sakuuri, a saabile da ŋmɛ o la kyɛ yeli, “Fo zɔloŋ zuo la. Fo koŋ tõɔ zanne bonzaa.” Magozwe da di la a dɔgɛɛ ŋa yuomo ata a kyɛ zoyi a o saabile zie a te be sori zu a tuulo.
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.
A sori zu tuuluu ŋa da ba e mɔllɔ. Ba da maŋ di la dɔgɛɛ yaga a kyɛ tõɔ nyɛ be bebiri zaa bondirii. Bebie mine polisiri maŋ te yi la ba zu a nyɔge ba te pɔge. Bebie mine noba maŋ nyɔge ba la a ŋmɛ. Ka ba naŋ da wa beɛrɛ meŋ, neɛ zaa da kyebe a na soŋ ba. A biiri bama dɛloo zie zaa la a libie na ba naŋ yɔ zɛlle ane bonfollo mine ba naŋ yɔ koɔre. A ba toma ŋa nimizeɛ zie zaa la saŋa na ba naŋ maŋ te tuori ba taaba mine ka ba zɔɔ a sɔroo paaloŋ na eŋa.
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.
Daare kaŋa, Magozwe da kaara la sagre poɔ a te nyɛ ganzage kaŋa. O da piŋpiŋ la a dɛgre bare kyɛ de eŋ o woɔ poɔ. Bebiri zaa o naŋ toŋ o toma baare, o maŋ iri la a gane yuoro a enfuomo kaara. O da koŋ tõɔ kanne a sɛgebie bee a yelbie naŋ bebe.
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.
A enfuomo da wulo la bidɔɔlee kaŋa naŋ da baa iri a mɔna alopelee. Magozwe da maŋ gaŋ zanna ne la a alopelee mɔmmo. O da maŋ deɛ la ka o na la dɔɔlee na a ganne poɔ.
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.
Ɔɔre da erɛ la kyɛ ka Magozwe da naŋ are a soriŋ sɔrɔ libie noba zie. Dɔɔ kaŋa da kyɛŋ wa la a bie zie a wa yeli, “Haloo, N yuori la Thomas. N toma zie peɛle la a kyɛ. Fo na tõɔ nyɛ la bondirii be a di.” O da tẽɛ la nu wuli a bie yir-doɔ kaŋa ba naŋ kpaare na kyaãse sɔglaa, kyɛ yeli, “Ka foõ na di, gaa be fo na nyɛ la bondirii a di.” Magozwe da kaa la dɔɔ kyɛ la kaa a yiri kyɛ yeli, “Tɔɔ,” a kyɛ te gara.
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.
Kyiuri awola mine naŋ tu, a biiri bama da milliŋ la a Thomas. O da nɔŋɛɛ ka o ne noba yele yɛlɛ, gaŋ a zaa, a biweɛmɛ bama taaba. O da nɔŋɛɛ ka noba maŋ manne ba nyɔvore yɛlɛ ka o kyɛle. O da maŋ taa la kanyiri ne nimizeɛ a yɛlɛ ama kyɛloo poɔ. O ba deirɛ suuri bee neba-eŋbo kpeɛrɛ ne a yɛlɛ ama kyɛloo poɔ. A biiri bama mine da piili gara la a yidoɔ na poɔ te dire bundirii ŋmenaa saŋa.
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 da zeŋ kaara la o enfuomo gane ka Thomas la wa zeŋ kɔge o. “Boŋ la ka a senseloŋ kyaare?” Thomas la soore. Ka Magozwe yeli, “O kyaarɛɛ bidɔɔlee kaŋa naŋ da leɛ alopelee mɔna.” Ka Thomas soore, “A bidɔɔlee yuori la boŋ?” Ka Magozwe yeli baaloŋ lɛ, “N ba baŋ a yuori, N koŋ baŋ kanne.”
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.
Ba da wa tuori la taa ka Magozwe piili manna o nyɔvore yɛlɛ zaa kora a Thomas. O yelyaga zaa da kyaarɛɛ o ne o saabile ane o naŋ zo yi a o nuuriŋ ananso. Thomas da ba yeli yɛlɛ zaa. O ba wuli Magozwe lɛnɛɛ o naŋ na e. O deɛ da kyɛlɛ la a yɛlɛ velaa. Saŋa mine ba maŋ yeli la yɛlɛ lɛɛ wa baare a kyɛ gaa a yidoɔ na poɔ te di bundirii.
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.
Magozwe naŋ da wa ta a yuomo pie dɔgebo daare bebiri, Thomas da ko o la senseloŋ ganpaalaa. A senseloŋ da kyaarɛɛ koraa poɔ bie kaŋa naŋ baa iri a leɛ bɔlŋmɛ-kpoŋ soba. Thomas da kanne la a senseloŋ na gbɛrebowola zaa ko Magozwe. Daare kaŋa la ka a Thomas yeli, “N teɛre ka saŋa taɛɛ la ka fo gaa sakuuri a te zanne kannoo. Wola ka fo nyɛ a poɔ?” Thomas da yeli ka o baŋɛɛ zie kaŋa bibiiri naŋ maŋ zeŋ kyɛ gara sakuuri.
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 da zeŋ teɛre la a o zipaalaa ŋa ane a o sakuuri gaabo yɛlɛ lɛɛ. O da ba baŋ kaapɔge ao saabile yɛlɛ tɔɔ na wa e yelmeŋa, ka o koŋ tõɔ zanne bonzaa. Bee o ta wa era ka ba ŋmɛ o a zie na. Dabẽɛ da kpɛ o la. “Amine kaŋa a N sorizu tuuluu la na seɛ.” Lɛ ka o da teɛre.
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 da yeli la a o dabẽɛ na zaa ko a Thomas. Ka a dɔɔ da kpaale o zu yaga zaa ka a be la na soŋ o ka a yɛlɛ seɛ.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Azuiŋ, Magozwe da gaa te kpeɛrɛ la yiri na poɔ. O ne bidɔba bayi mine la da laŋ die. Ba zaa da laŋ la taa e bibiiri pie a yiriŋ. Cissy ane o serɛ, baare ata, kɔlaa ane bonyaaŋa meŋ da be a yiri poɔ.
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 da piili la sakuuri. A da ba e mɔlɔ, bonso, a o taaba da zanne gaa la tɔɔre ka a seŋ ka o zanne pɔge ba. A maŋ te ta la soga ka o nuuri yoɔre, kyɛ ka o teɛroŋ maŋ gaa a alopelee mɔna ane a bɔlŋmɛkaraa na o naŋ nyɛ a senseloŋ gane poɔ. O da boɔrɔ la ka ka o waa ŋa a noba na. Ba nuuri da ba yoɔre.
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 da zeŋ la a yiri kyaara poɔ a kanna a gane na kaŋa ba naŋ ko o a sakuuri poɔ. Ka Thomas da wa zeŋ kɔge o. “Boŋ ka a senseloŋ kyaare?” Thomas la soore. “O kyaarɛɛ bie kaŋa naŋ da leɛ karema.” Magozwe la da iri o noɔre. Ka Thomas sore, “A bie yuori la boŋ?” Ka Magozwe yeli kyɛ laara morɔ, “A bie yuori la Magozwe.”
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.
