Le Nirobi ƒe du gã me, afi siɖetsɔleme na agbenɔnɔ mesɔ kple ale si wὸle le kɔƒewo me o lae ŋutsuvi kpɔdometsilawo de ha ɖo. Wonɔa agbe ɖe ale si ŋu ke ɖe woe la nu.
Gbe ɖeka ŋdi la ŋutsuviawo nɔ ƒuƒom woƒe aba siwo dzi womlɔ le xɔxɔnufafa aɖe la. Wotsɔ gbeɖuɖɔ do dzoe be vuvɔ nagawɔ yewo o.
Magozwe nɔ ŋutsuviawo dome. Eyae nye ɖevitɔ wu le wo dome.
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 xɔ ƒe atɔ̃ ko hafi edzilawo ku le egbɔ. Eyi ɖanɔ nyruia gbɔ. Ŋutsu sia metsɔ ɖeke le eme nɛ o. Menaa nuɖuɖu Magozwe wὸɖua ɖia ƒo o. Dɔ sesẽwo ko wὸdea asi nɛ be wὸawɔ.
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.
Nenye be Magozwe fa konyi olo bia nya aɖe la,nyruia ƒonɛ. Esi magozwe bia be yeate ŋu ayi suku mahã la, nyruia ƒoe hegblɔ kpe ɖe eŋu be, “Edzɔ lã akpa eya ta mɔ̃srɔ̃ naneke anyae o.”
Le funyafunya wɔwɔe ƒe etɔ̃ megbe la, Magozwe si dzo le nyruia gbɔ eye wὸdze agbe gɔme le kpɔdome.
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.
Kpɔdomegbenɔnɔ sesẽ ale gbegbe eye ŋutsuviawo dometɔ geɖe kpea fu hafi kpɔa woƒe agbebolo. Ɣeaɖewoɣi la, woléawo, ɣeaɖewoɣi la woƒoa wo. Nenye be wodze dɔ la, womekpɔa kpeɖeŋutɔ aɖeke o.
Ga sue si kpɔdomevi siawo kpɔ tso nubiabia kple aŋenuwo dzadzra me la ŋutie woɖoa ŋu ɖo.
Kpɔdomevi hatsotso bubu siwo di be yewoaɖo tɔ ɖe du gã la me ƒe akpa aɖewo dzi la kpea avu kple woƒe futɔ hatsotso bubuwo. Esia wɔe be agbenɔnɔ va sesẽ ɖe edzi.
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.
Gbe ɖeka esi Magozwe nɔ gbeɖuɖɔlɔnu me tsam la, eke ɖe ŋutinyagbalẽ xoxo vuvu aɖe ŋuti. Etutu ɖia ɖa le eŋu eye wὸtsɔe de eƒe kotoku me.
Tso gbema gbe dzi la, atsɔ agbalẽa anɔ nɔnɔmetatawo kpɔm. Menya ale si wὸaxlẽ nyawo o.
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.
Nɔnɔmetatawo ƒo nu tso ale si ŋutsuvi aɖe tsi va zu yameʋukulae la ŋuti.
Magozwe ƒe didie wὸnye be yeava zu yameʋukula. Ɣeaɖewoɣi la, ebunɛ be yee nye ŋutsuvi si le ŋutinya la me.
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.
Xexe me fa eye Magozwe tsi tre ɖe ablɔ dzi henɔ nu biam. Ŋutsu aɖe si woyɔna be Thomas la zɔ yi egbɔ. Egblɔ nɛ be, “Afi si mele dɔ wɔm le la te ɖe afi sia ŋu, afi si ɔ̃te ŋu akpɔ nane aɖu le.”
Edo asi ɖe xɔ aɖe si ƒe amadede nye aŋgbaɖiɖitɔ eye wogbae kple amadede blɔtɔ la gbɔ eye wὸbiae be, “Ayi afi ma aɖaxɔ nuɖuɖu aɖea?”
Magozwe kpɔ ŋutsua duũ eye wὸkpɔ xɔa hã ɖa eye wὸgblɔ be, “Ɖewomahĩ,” eye wὸzɔ dzo.
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.
Le ɣleti aɖewo megbe la, ŋutsuvi kpɔdomeviawo ƒe Thomas kpɔkpɔ va zu numame na wo. Thomas lɔ̃ nuƒoƒo na amewo vevitɔ na kpɔdomeviwo.
Thomas se amewo ƒe agbeme ŋutinyawo kpɔ. Ese wo kple movevieɖoɖo kpakple dzigbɔɖi, ke menye kple adã kple amemabumabu o.Ŋutsuviawo dometɔ aɖewo de asi aƒe la me yiyi me hena nuɖuɖu xɔxɔ le ŋdɔ me.
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 bɔbɔnɔ mɔtata aɖe dzi henɔ eƒe nɔnɔmetatagbalẽa me kpɔm esi Thomas vanɔ anyi ɖe egbɔ.
Thomas biae be, “Nu ka ŋutie ŋutinya la tso?”
Magozwe ɖe ŋu nɛ be, “Etso ŋutsuvi aɖe si va zu yameʋukula la ŋuti.”
Thomas gabiae be, “Ŋutsuvia ƒe ŋkɔ ɖe?”
Magozwe gblɔ kple gbe blewu be, “Nyemenya o, nyemate ŋu axlẽ nu o.”
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.
Esi wokpe la, Magozwe de asi nu ƒom tso eya ŋutɔ ŋuti na Thomas. Eƒo nu tso nyruia kple nu sita wὸsi le egbɔ la ŋuti.
Thomas meƒo nu fuũ o, eye megblɔ nu si Magozwe nawɔ la o gake eɖoa toe ɣe sia ɣi.Ɣe aɖewo ɣi la woɖoa dze le aƒe si wogba kple amadede blɔ la me nenye be wole nu ɖum.
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.
Esi Magozwe xɔ abe ƒe ewo la, Thomas na ŋutinyagbalẽ yeye aɖee. Enye ŋutinya si tso ŋutsuvi kɔƒetɔ aɖe si tsi va zu bɔluƒola si ƒe ŋkɔ ɖi hoo la ŋuti.
Thomas xlẽ ŋutinya la to eme na Magozwe zi geɖe va se ɖe esime wὸgblɔ nɛ gbeɖeka be, “Mebui, ɣeyiɣide azɔ̃ be nɔ̃yi suku aɖasrɔ̃ nuxexlẽ. Alekee nye wὸ susu?”
Thomas ɖe eme nɛ be yenya teƒe aɖe si ɖeviwo ate ŋu anɔ ade suku.
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 bu tame tso teƒe yeye sia kple sukua yiyi ŋu. Nu kae adzɔ nenye be nyruia ƒe nya si wὸgblɔ be eƒe tagbɔ fa, mate ŋu asrɔ̃ naneke le suku o?
Nenye be woƒoe le teƒe yeye sia ɖe? Enɔ vɔvɔ̃m. Ebui be, “Ɖewomahĩ kpɔdome nɔnɔ ahanyo awu.”
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.
Eɖe vɔvɔ̃ si nɔ eme la fia Thomas. Ke Thomas kã ɖe edzi nɛ be agbenɔnɔ aka ɖe eme nɛ le teƒe yeyea wu.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Magozwe ʋu yi aƒe aɖe si wogba kple amadede aŋgbaɖiɖitɔ la me. Eya kple ŋutsuvi bubu eve woe nɔ xɔ ɖeka me.
Le aƒe bliboa me la, ɖevi ewoe nɔe kpeɖe Aƒenɔ Cissy kple srɔ̃a, avu etɔ̃, dadi ɖeka kpakple gbɔ̃ tsitsi ɖeka ŋuti.
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 dze suku gɔme gake menɔ bɔbɔe nɛ o. Dɔ geɖe dze ŋgɔ nɛ wὸdze be wὸawɔ.Ɣe aɖewo ɣi la edi be yeana ta gake ebua tame tso yameʋukula kple bɔlɔƒola ŋuti le ŋutinyagbalẽawo me. Abe woawo enea, mena ta o.
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 nɔ anyi ɖe aƒea me henɔ ŋutinyagbalẽ si wὸtsɔ tso suku la xlẽm.
Thomas va nɔ anyi ɖe egbɔ.
Thomas biae be, “Nu ka ŋutie ŋutinya la tso?” Magozwe ɖe eŋu nɛ be, “Eƒo nu tso ŋutsuvi aɖe si va zu nufiala la ŋuti.”
Thomas biae be, “Ŋutsuvia ƒe ŋkɔ ɖe?”
Magozwe ko alɔgbɔnui hegblɔ be, “Eƒe ŋkɔe nye 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.
