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Kadegboŋ nɛ baa tre Nairobi na, to nɛ mbia nɛ b shin nde wɔfɔ a maŋ kɔ benawuraana ndoŋ na be katuŋ wɔ. Mbia na shi nde wɔfɔ nɛ bumo kurgepoaan bee keni bumo so nɛnɛ na, to nna m ba kaa wɔ ndoŋ. B baa wɔtɔ nna a jo karɛcha kama be kusɔ nɛ k beeŋ tu bumo nɛ b sɔ kumo loŋ. Kachipurdidi, awo ko to nɛ mbia na di ŋ koso a bɔɔ bumo be alan. Ŋkpal awo so nɛ baa kpa edɛ n wɔtɔ epi nɛ b fuge n nase na to a wɔl. Katuŋ na to be mbia na be eko e daa la Magozwe. Mo e daa la bumo to be kabibi.
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 daa la nfɛ anyɔ nawule nna nɛ mo tuto nɛ mo nio wu. Ndoŋ nna nɛ e ya kaa wɔ mo wupa kutɔ. Kanyɛn ere be sheŋ daa maŋ wɔ kebia na to. E daa maa shin nɛ Magozwe bee ji a mɔɛ. Ama e daa shin nna nɛ e bee shuŋ ashuŋ kpakpaso nɛ a chɔ mo so.
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.
Magozwe daŋ baŋ fubel ŋko ŋ kaŋɛ kusɔ ko a laŋɛ kushuŋ na be kaplɛso malɛ mo wupa na daa bri mo nna. Kacha ko nɛ Magozwe bishi fanɛ e beeŋ tiŋ n nya ekpa n yɔ sukuu a, nɛ mo wupa bri mo nna nseŋ kaŋɛ, “Manɛ nɛ fo zuku ere beeŋ tiŋ ŋ koya.” Magozwe ka ji le be awurfoŋ nfɛ asa nɛ e shile mo wupa na kutɔ. E daŋ ya kaa na kadegboŋ to be kebɔrbi so nna.
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.
Kebɔrbi so be kebaawɔtɔ daa du kpakpa ga nɛ mbia na bee wora wahala pɔɛŋ nsaa nya kacha kama be kusɔjiso. Saŋko epushi bee pɛ bumo nna, saŋko malɛ baa bri bumo nna, nɛ b baa lɔ, esa kama maa chɛ bumo to. Amanshɛrbi nɛ baa nya ashi kebaa kule to, ŋko kebaa tise eruba nɛ abɛlso a fa to nawule e baa la bumo. Kebaawɔtɔ daa ki kpakpa nna a ti so ŋkpal loŋ be mbia be ntuŋana ka bee tu abar a kɔ a fin kakpa nɛ baaŋ ba wɔ so so.
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.
Kacha ko nɛ Magozwe ya kaa tise asɔ kemuni so, nseŋ wu buuku dradra kpɛto so ko. Ndoŋ nna nɛ e ta kumo ŋ kpara kumo be eyurpi na nseŋ ta kumo n wɔtɔ mbe bɔtɛ to. Yili kamoncha, karecha kikɛ e beeŋ ta buuku na ŋ keni kumo to be efoto na. Ŋkpal manɛ so e daŋ maaŋ tiŋ ŋ kraŋ kumo be nsibɛ na.
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.
Efoto na daa ji kebia ko nɛ e daŋ ŋ ki aduple farpo be asheŋ nna. Ndoŋ nna nɛ Magozwe fara a ku keki aduple farpo be edare saŋkikɛ. Saŋko, e bee kaa fɛ nna fanɛ mo e la buuku na to be kebia na.
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.
Kacha ko awo ko to nɛ Magozwe ya kaa yil ekpakar a kule. Ndoŋ nna nɛ kanyɛn ko ba mo kutɔ m ba kaŋɛ, “Hɛloo, ma e la Thomas. Mee shuŋ m mata nfe nna, kakpa nɛ feeŋ tiŋ n nya kusɔ ko ŋ ji.” Kumo be kaman nɛ e teŋi enɔ ŋ ŋini lank o nɛ b nyɔɔ kachunɔnyifu nɛ kumo be echenshi la bruu, nseŋ kaŋɛ, “Mee fɛ nna fanɛ fo yɔ ndoŋ n ya ji kusɔ ko?” Nɛ Magozwe keni kanyɛn na nseŋ kilgi ŋ keni lan ŋ kaŋɛ, “Ashere,” kumo be kaman nɛ e kilgi n choŋ.
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.
Yili loŋ be saŋɛ na, nɛ nɛ mbia nɛ b maŋ kɔ epe na nɛ Thomas deŋ nsaa wu abar saŋkikɛ. Thomas bee sha kebaa tu basa a bir bare nna ga, fɔŋfɔŋ mbia nɛ b wɔ kebɔrbi so na. E daa sha kebaanu basa be kebaawɔtɔ be asheŋ nna. E daŋ pre kenishi nna n wɔtɔ kusɔ nɛ e bee wora na to ga. Mo alɛ maa wu mbe kumu ŋko a fɛl basa. Ndoŋ nna nɛ mbia na be beko fara a yɔ lan nɛ b nyɔɔ kachunɔnyifu ɛ bruu na to n ya kaa ji kapaso.
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 daa tase ekpakar nna a keni mbe buuku na to be efoto nɛ Thomas ba chena m mata mo nseŋ bishi. “Manɛ be asheŋ nɛ keblɔmbi ere bee malga?” Nɛ Magozwe kaŋɛ, “K bee malga kebia ko nɛ e bee sha fanɛ e ki aduple farpo be asheŋ nna.” Nɛ Thomas bishi, “Kebia na be ketre a?” Nɛ Magozwenya manaŋ ŋ kaŋɛ, “M maŋ nyi. M maaŋ tiŋ ŋ kraŋ.”
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.
Kumo be kaman nɛ Magozwe fara a kaŋɛ Thomas mo gbaga be kebaawɔtɔ be asheŋ. Mo wupana nɛ kananɛ eshile mo be asheŋ e daa la. Thomas daŋ maŋ malga ga, mo alɛ daŋ maŋ kaŋɛ Magozwe kusɔ nɛ kedaga fanɛ e wora, E daa kaŋ kusoe nna a nu kusɔ nɛ e bee kaŋɛ na. Saŋɛ ko baa kaa wɔ chenshi bru be lan na to nna a ji nsaa malga.
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 be kafɛ kudusopo be kakurgeacha, nɛ Thomas sa mo buuku pɔpor. Buuku na daa malga kdebi ko to be kebia ko nɛ e daŋ ŋ ki bɔll ŋmɛapo gboŋ be asheŋ nna. Saŋɛ damta nɛ Thomas kraŋ buuku na ŋ ŋini Magozwe. Kacha ko nɛ e kaŋɛ mo le, “Mee fɛ nna fanɛ saŋɛ fo nɛ fo yɔ sukuu n ya koya kakraŋ. Nuso nɛ fee fɛ?” Thomas daŋ kaŋɛ nna fanɛ e nyi kakpa ko nɛ mbia beeŋ tiŋ n ya kaa wɔ, a yɔ sukuu.
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.
Ndoŋ nna nɛ Magozwe fara a fɛ kakpa pɔpor na, nɛ sukuu be keyɔ be asheŋ. Nɛ kusɔ nɛ mo wupa kaŋɛ mo fanɛ zuku e la mo, nɛ e maaŋ tiŋ koya sheŋ na kaa la kashenteŋ a? Ŋko nɛ b ka yaa kaa biri mo ashi kakpa pɔpor na a? Nɛ kufu pɛ mo nɛ e fɛ le, “Ashere ma kebaawɔ kebɔrbi so ere bɔ.”
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.
Ndoŋ nna nɛ e kaŋɛ Thomas kusɔ nɛ k bee tɔrɔ mo. Nɛ Thomas leŋ mo to saŋɛ damta fanɛ kakpa pɔpor na be kebaawɔtɔ beeŋ ba bɔ kakpa nɛ e wɔ na.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Nɛ Magozwe lar n yɔ lan pɔtɛ nɛ kumo be chenshi la kefitiri bumbuŋ na to. Mo nɛ mbia anyɔ ko e daa wɔ ebu to ashi ndoŋ. Bumo kikɛ daa la mbia kudu nna n ta Auntie Cissy nɛ mo kul nɛ njɔnɔ asa, nɛ jiblaŋ, nɛ kaboe chɛrso ko ashi lan na to.
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 ka fara sukuu k daa du kpakpa nna ga. K daŋ daga fanɛ e baa nyi asɔ damta. Saŋɛ damta e daa sha keyige nna. Ama mo alɛ daa fɛ aduple farpo na nɛ bɔll ŋmɛapo na be asheŋ nna. Nseŋ kpal bumo so, a maŋ yige.
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.
Kacha ko nɛ Magozwe tase kefitiri bumbuŋ be chenshi be lan na be epunto a kraŋ nɛ Thomas ba chena m mata mo nseŋ bishi, “Manɛ be asheŋ nɛ keblɔmbi na bee ji?” Nɛ Magozwe kaŋɛ, “K bee ji kebia ko nɛ e ki eŋinipo be asheŋ nna.” Nɛ Thomas bishi, “Kebia na be ketere a?” Nɛ Magozwe mushe ŋ kaŋɛ, “Mbe ketere e 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.
