Wɔ Nairobi kurowkɛse bi mu a adagyer nnyi mu no a ɔnntse dɛ fie abrabɔ no, nna mbanyimba bi a wonnyi fie tsetse mu no wɔ. Da biara ba bɔto hɔn dɛm ara. Da kor anapa bi, nna mbanyimba yi robobɔw hɔn mpa a wɔdaa do wɔ awɔw no mu. Mbrɛ ɔbɛyɛ ma woeyi awɔw no efi hɔn mu no, wɔdzi nwura sɔɔ gya na wɔtoe. Nna Magozwe ka mbanyimba yi ho. Ɔno nye hɔn mu kakraba.
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.
Aber a Magozwe n’awofo wuwuii no, nna oedzi mfi enum. Ɔnye no wɔfa kɛtsenae. Papa yi anndwen abofra yi ho. Ɔammaa Magozwe edziban a oye. Ɔmaa abofra yi yɛɛ edwumadzen.
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.
Sɛ biribi haw Magozwe na obisa ho asɛm a, no wɔfa bor no. Sɛ Magozwe bisa dɛ obotum akɔ skuul a no wɔfa no bor no na asɛm a ɔka nye dɛ, “Wotsir ewu wɔ adzesua mu.” Dɛm nyɛe yi kɔr do bɛyɛ mfe ebiasa na Maagodwe guanee fii no wɔfa ne nkyɛn. Ɔhyɛɛ ase dɔ ɔbɔ ne bra wɔ stiiti mu.
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.
Stiiti mu abrabɔ yɛ dzen, na mbarimba no hɔn mu pii per ana woenya edziaban edzi. Ɔtɔfabi a wɔkyer hɔn. Ɔtɔ fa bi a wɔbor hɔn. Sɛ wɔyaryar a obi nnyi hɔ a ɔbɔboa hɔn. Sika a wonya wɔ adzesera mu na wɔdze hwɛ hɔn ho, ɔnye dza wonya fi nwrɔbanwrɔba mu. Ma ɔma abrabɔ mu yɛ dzen kɛse mpo nye dɛ ɔyɛ a mbanyimba kuw fofor so nye hɔn nya ntokwa dɛ wopɛ ahyɛ hɔn do dɛ hɔn na ɔwɔ dɛ wodzi tum wɔ beebi a wɔwɔ no.
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.
Da kor bi wɔ aber a Magozwe rohwehwɛ nwura adze mu, ohun buukuu dadaw bi a asɛm bi wɔ mu. Ɔpepaa fi no wɔ ho na ɔdze hyɛɛ no kotoku mu. Dabiara oyi buukuu no na ɔhwɛ mfonyin a ɔwɔ mu no. Nna onnyim akenkan.
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.
Mfonyin no kyerɛ banyimba bi a ɔpɛ dɛ ɔka wimuhɛn sɛ ɔyɛ panyin a. Magozwe so susu dɛ nkyɛ ɔno so bɛka wimuhɛn. Ɔtɔ fabi a, osusu dɛ nkyɛ ɔno nye abofra a ɔwɔ asɛm no mu no.
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.
Nna ɔyɛ awɔw na Magozwe gyina kwan mu reserɛserɛ adze. Banyin bi kɔr ne nkyɛn na ɔkaa dɛ, “O! Wɔfrɛ me Thomas. Meyɛ edwuma wɔ ha wɔ beebi a ibenya edziban edzi.” Ɔtseen ne nsa kyerɛɛ dan bi a noho yɛ akokɔangoa na n’etsifi so yɛ bibir. Ɔkaa dɛ, “Migyedzi dɛ ebɔkɔ hɔ na ekenya biribi edzi.” Magozwe hwɛɛ papa no, na ɔhwɛɛ dan no, na ɔkaa dɛ, “Annhwɛ a,” na ɔkɔree.
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.
Bɛyɛ abosoom kakra a odzi hɔn enyim no, nna ɔyɛ a mbanyimba no hu Thomas dɛ ɔnenam hɔ. Ɔdɔ pɛ dɛ ɔnye nkorɔfo kasa, nkanka hɔn a wɔbɔ hɔn bra wɔ stiiti mu. Thomas tsiei nkorɔfo hɔn abrabɔ ho nsɛm. Ɔwɔ abotar na n’enyi ber so. Ɔnnyɛ obi a ommbu adze na n’enyi so nnsɔ adze. Mbanyimba no binom hyɛɛ ase dɛ wɔrokɔ fie no a noho akokɔangoa na bibir no mu akɛgye edziban ewiaber biara.
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.
Nna Magozwe tse bamba bi do rohwɛ nomfonyin buukuu no mu, nna Thomas so bɛtsenaa ne nkyɛn. Thomas bisaa dɛ, “Na asɛm no fa ebɛnadze ho?” Magozwe kaa dɛ, “Ɔfa no abofra bi a ɔbɛyɛɛ wimuhɛnkanyi ho.” Thomas bisaa dɛ, “Na abofra no wɛfrɛ no dɛn?” Magozwe kaa no bookɔ dɛ, “Minnyim osiandɛ minnyim akenkam.”
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.
Wohyiae no Magozwe hyɛɛ ase kaa noho asɛm kyerɛɛ Thomas. N’asɛm no fa no wɔfa na mbrɛ ɔyɛɛ ma oguanee fii ne nkyɛn. Thomas annkasa pii, na ɔannka dza ɔwɔ dɛ Magozwe yɛ, na mbom otsie no yie. Ɔtɔ fabi a wodzi nkɔmbɔ wɔ aber a woridzidzi wɔ fie no a n’etsifi yɛ bibir no.
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 dzii n’awoda a ɔtɔ do du no, Thomas maa no buukuu fofor a nsɛm wɔ mu. Ɔfa no abofra bi a ofi ekuraase a onyinii bɛyɛɛ bɔɔlbɔnyi kɛse bi a ɔgyee dzin. Thomas kenkaan nsɛm no kyerɛɛ Magozwe mpɛn pii kesii da kor bi a ɔkaa dɛ, “Migyedzi dɛ edu mber a ɔwɔ dɛ ekɔ skul na isua akenkan. Edwen ho dɛn?” Thomas kaa dɛ onyim beebi a mbofra botum atsena na wɔakɔ skuul.
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 dween dɛm bea fofor yi ho na mbrɛ ɔbɛyɛ akɔ skuul. Na no wɔfa kaa dɛ onnyi tsir a wɔdze sua adze no, ana ɔyɛ nokwar a? Na sɛ wɔbor no wɔ bea fofor yi so ɛ? Nna osuro. Ɔdweenn dɛ, “Bi a stiiti mu abrabɔ no bɛyɛ papa asen ɔno.”
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.
Ɔkaa no suro no kyerɛɛ Thomas. Papa no hyɛɛ no nkuran dɛ mber kakra no abrabɔ bɛyɛ papa wɔ bea fofor no.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Afei Magozwe kɛhyɛɛ pia bi a ɔwɔ dan a n’etsifi yɛ momon no mu. Ɔnye mbanyimba beenu hyɛɛ pia no mu. Nna hɔn nyina hɔn dodow yɛ du na wɔtse fie hɔ. Wɔnye Auntie Cissy na no kun, mbɔdɔm ebiasa, egyinamboa kor, nna apɔnkye a oenyin kor.
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 hyɛɛ skuul ase na nna ɔyɛ dzen ma no. Ɔwɔ pii a ɔwɔ dɛ osua. Ɔyɛ a na ɔpɛ dɛ ogyaa skuul no kɔ. Na ɔdween wimuhɛnkanyi na bɔɔlbɔnyi hɔn ho asɛm no wɔ buukuu no mu. Hɔn ntsi ɔammpa abaw.
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 tse fie no a n’etsifi momon no mu rekenkan buukuu bi a ɔdze fi skuul. Thomas bae bɛtsenaa ne nkyɛn. “Na nsɛm no fa ebɛnadze ho?” Thomas na obisaa no. Magozwe buaa no dɛ, “Ɔfa no abofra bi a ɔbɛyɛɛ kyerɛkyerɛnyi ho.” Thomas bisaa no dɛ, “Na abofra no wɔfrɛ no dɛn?” Magozwe dze serew kaa dɛ, “Wɔfrɛ no 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.
