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Mu taunyi wa Nairobi, kwalepa na ku muzhi, kwajinga jibumba ja banyike ba balume babula malaalo. Baikalangatu byonkabyo. Juuba jimo lukelo,bano banyike paikile bisanswe pobalalanga mu mashika. Ba ambwile mujilo na ma peepala pakuba amba bomvweko kyuuya. Pakachi kabano banyike babalume pajinga Mungozwe. Yewanjinga mwanyike pabonse.
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.
Bansemi bakwa Magozwe poba fwile, aye wajitu na myaka ya kusemwa itaanu. Wayile nakwikala ne ba mwisho yanji. Bano ba mwisho wanji kechi bateeleko maana ku uno mwaana ne. Kechi bamupanga kajo kafikilamo ne. Bamupanga nkito yakosa biingi.
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.
Inge Magozwe wijizhang’anya nangwa kwipuzha ba mwisho ba mupumanga. Kimye Mungozwe kyo ashikishe ba mwisho yanji inge wakonsha kuya ku sukulu, ba mwisho yanji bamupumine ne kwamba amba, “Maana ufwao akufunda biji byonse.” Panyuma ya myaka isatu yakuno kulamwa bibi, Mungozwe wanyemene kufuma kuba mwisho yanji. Watendekele kwikala naba kwabo babula malaalo.
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.
Bwikalo bwakubula malaalo bwajinga bwa katazha kabiji banyike bavula baabalume babula malaalo bekala na lukatazho kutana kajo kapajuuba ne pajuuba. Bimye bimo beba kwatanga kabiji jikwabo beba pumanga. Inge babela, kafwako wakwi bakwasha. Jino jibumba ja ketekelanga mali acheche abatananga kufuma mukulomba, nemukupotesha ma peepala apulasitiki ne bintu bikwabo. Bwikalo bwa katezhe biingi na mambo akulwisha na mabumba akwabo akeba pakwikala mu taunyi.
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.
Juuba jimo Mazongwe byoasalawilenga moba taya ndochi, wataine kabuuku katabauka ka mashimikila. Wika wamishishe ne kwika longa mu mufuko wanji. Kimye kyonse panyuma ya kutola uno buuku wa mulupulanga mumu fukuta ne kutala pa bikope. Kechi wayukile kutanga byambo ne.
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.
Bikope bya mweshanga jishimikila ja mwanyike wakomene waikala ke endeshe ndeke. Magozwe walotanga kwendesha ndeke. Jimo walangulukunga amba ye mwanyike uji mu jishimikila.
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.
Kwajinga bingi mashika kabiji Mungozwe waimene kuunsa ya mukwakwa na kulomba. Shetu waishile koaji. “Byepi, yami Thomas. Nsebeza pepi napano pampunzha powakonsha kutana kya kuja, ” uno shetu wa ambile. Wamumwesheshe ku nzubo ya yelo iji na musemi wa bbulu. “Naketekela usa ku konsha kuyako ne kutambulako kajo?” waipwizhe. Mungozwe watajile uno shetu kabiji watajile ne kwaji nzubo. “Kampe,” waambile ne kufumapo.
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.
Pa ba ng’ondo balondejilpo, bano banyike babujile malaalo bapijilwe kumona Thomas. Watemenwe kwisamba na bantu kikatakata abo ba bujile malaalo. Thomas watelekanga kumashimikla ama bwikalo abantu. Wajinga wakishinka kabiji wa mushingi. Bamo banyike baabalume batendekele ku nzubo ya yelo ne bbulu nakujako kajo ka pachaile.
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.
Mugozwe waikele kunsa ya mukwaakwa kasa atala mu buuku waanji wa bikope apo Thomas waishile nakwikala peepi naanji. “Jishimikila jiji paka?” Thomas waipwizhe. “Jiji pa mwanyike wamulume waendeshanga ndeke,” Mungozwe wakumbile. “Ng’anyi jizhina?” Thomas washikishe. “Kechi nayuka ne, kechi nakonsha kutanga ne,” Mungozwe waambile.
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.
Byo basambakene, Mungozwe wa mubujile Thomas jishimikala ja bwikalo bwanji. Jajinga jishimikila jaba mwisho yanji ne kyalengele kuba amba anyeme. Thomas kechi waambile byavula ne kabiji kechi wamu bujile Magozwe bya kuuba ne, mino watelekanga bingi bulongo. Jimo jimo besambanga aku saka baja ku nzubo ya musemi wa bbulu.
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.
Kubwipi na juuba ja kusemwa jakwa Magozwe ja kufika myaka jikumi, Thomas wamupele buuku wa mashimikila mupya. Jajinga jishimikila ja mwanyike wa mulume wa ku muzhi ao wakomene waikala keupama mpila waile nkuwa. Thomas watangijile Magozwe jino jishimikila bimye byavula, kabiji juuba jimo waambile amba, “Nalunguluka namba kimye kyafika kyakuya ky sukulu ne kufunda kutanga. Walanguluka amba ka?” Thomas walumbulwile amba wayukapo mpunzha kwa konsha kwikala banyike saka baya ku sukulu.
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 walangulukile pa mpunzha ipya ne byakuya ku sukulu. Pano inge kyakuba amba ba mwisho yanji baambilenga bishinka kabiji wajinga wabula maana akufunda kiji kyonse? Pano inge ba mupuma kuno ku mpunzha ipya? Wajinga na moyo. “Kampe kyawama kuitwajijila kwikala kwa kubula malaalo,” walangulukile.
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.
Washilng’ene milangwe yanji ya moyo na Thomas. Pakupitapo kimye uno shetu wamutundaike amba bwikalo buka wama ku mpunzha ipya.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Kabiji wavilukijile mu kibamba kimo kya nzubo yaji na musemi wa gilini. Baikelenga mukibamba kimo naba kwabo babiji. Bonse pano bajingamo banyike jikumi mu yooya nzubo.Pamo neba Cissy ne bena kwabo, bakabwa basatu, kameenshi ne mbuzhi mukote.
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 watendekele sukulu kabiji kya katezhe. Wajinga na byavula bya ku keba ku yuka. Kimye kimo wakebanga kwikileka. Pano walangulukanga pa wa endeshanga ndeke ne wa pamanga mpila mu mashimikila. Nobe abo, kechi wikilekele ne.
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 waikele mu lubanza pa nzubo wa musemi wa gilini saka atanga buuku wa mashikila kufuma ku sukulu. Thomas waishile ne kwikala peepi ne aye. “Jishimikila jiji pa ka?” Thomas washikizhe. “Jiji pa mwanyike wa mulume waikele mufunjishi,” Magozwe wakumbwile. “Ng’anyi jizhina mwanyike wamuleme?” Thomas waipwizhe. “Jizhina janji Magozwe,” Magozwe waambile naku mwemwesela.
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.
