Mutaunyi wa Nairobi, kwalepa namuzhi, kwajinga jibumba ja banyike babalume babujile pakwikala. Baikalangatu monka muila moba. Juuba jimo lukeelo, bano banyike bapaikile bisanswe byabo byobalaajilepo mumashika. Baambwile mujilo kwingijisha ndochi pakuuba amba bomvweko kyuuya. Pabano banyike pajinga ne nsongwalume wajizhina ja Magozwe. Uno nsongwalume yewanjinga mwanyike pa bonse.
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 wajingatu na myaka ya kusemwa itanu pa kimye kyafwile bainanji. Magozwe wayile nakwikala ne ba mwisho yanji. Bano ba mwisho wanji kechi bamulaminenga bulongo uno mwanyike ne. Ba mwisho wanji kechi bamupangapo kajo kafikilamo ne. Bamupanga kwingila nkito yakosa bingi.
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 bamupumanga kuuba mwinsho wanji inge wijizhanya nangwa wibepuzhapo. Kimye kyonse inge Magozwe wabuula ba mwinsho wanji pabya sukuulu, abo bamupumanga ne kumwambila amba, “Obewa wikileya kuuba wafunda kyonse ne.” Panyuma yakumuyanjisha ku ba mwinsho yanji pa mwaka isatu, Magozwe wanyemene. Magozwe watendekele kwikalatu mumukwakwa.
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.
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, Magozwe asalawilenga mobataya ndochi, kabiji wataine kabuuku katabauka kamashimikila. Wikatolele kabuuku, wikakuntakunta kabiji ne kwikabika mujisaka janji. Wamishishe ne kwika longa mu mufuko wanji. Moba onse Magozwe watoolanga kano kabuuku ne kutala pa bikope mambo akuuba 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.
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.
Juuba jimo kwajinga mashika bingi bino Magozwe waimene kunsa ya mukwakwa na kulombaizha. Shetu umo waishile kubwipi ne kumubula amba, “Byepi, yami Thomas. Uno wamulume waambile jikwabo amba, Nsebezhela pabwipi nampunzha powakonsha kutana byakuja,” Uno shetu watongwelenga nzubo yakibobo yajinga musemi wa bbulu. “Naketekela usa kukonsha kuyako nakutambulako kajo?” wamubujile. Magozwe wamutajile shetu nekwamba amba, “Kampe,” kabiji wafumapo 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.
Byo papichilepo bañondo, bano bansongwalume babujile pakwikala batendekele kupijilwa kumumona Thomas. Thomas watemenwe kwisamba na bantu kikatakata aba baikalanga pamukwakwa. Thomas watelekanga kumashimikla abwikalo bwa bantu. Magozwe wajinga nabukishinka, butekanyi kabiji ne mushingi. Bansangwalume bakwabo batendekele kuya kunzubo yakibobo ya musemi wabbulu nakujako kajo kapachaile.
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 waikele kunsa ya mukwakwa saka atamba mubuuku wanji wa bikope kabiji Thomas waishile waikala peepi nanji. Thomas wamwipwizhe Magozwe amba, “Ñanyi jishimikila jijimo?” Magozwe wakumbwile amba, “Jino jishimikila jibena kwamba mwanyike wamulume waendeshanga ndeke,” Thomas wamwipwizhe jikwabo amba, “Jizhina ja nsongwalume wajinga ñanyi?” Magozwe wakumbwile kishinshi amba, “Kechi nayuka,”
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.
Byobasambakene, Magozwe watendekele kushimikizha Thomas jishimikala jabwikalo bwanji. Wamushimizhenga jishimikila jaba mwisho yanji ne kyalengele kuuba amba anyeme pa nzubo. Thomas kechi waambile byavula ne kabiji kechi wamubujilepo Magozwe byoalangulukilenga kuuba ne, bino watelekelengatu bulongo. Kimo kimye besambanga aku saka baja kajo kunzubo yamusemi wabbulu.
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 jakufikizha mwaka yakusemwa jikumi, Thomas wamupele Magozwe buuku wa mashimikila wakatataka. Jino jishimikila jajinga ja mwanyike wamulume wa kumuzhi waishile kwikala keshenyenye wampila. Thomas wamutangijilenga Magozwe jino jishimikila bimye byavula, kabiji juuba jimo wamwambile amba, “Nalanguluka namba kimye kyafika kyakuya kusukuulu pa kuuba amba ukafunde ne kuyuka kutanga. Walangulukapo byepi?” Thomas wamulumbulwijile Magozwe amba wayukapo mpunzha kwakonsha kwikala banyike saka baya kusukuulu.
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 walangulukilepo pampunzha yakatataka kabiji nepa kuya kusukuulu. Watendekele kulanguluka pa byamwambijile ba mwisho wanji. Walangulukilenga amba kampepo kileya kya kine kabiji kechi wakonsha kufundane? Walangulukile jikwabo amba pano inge bamupuma kuno kumpunzha yakatataka? Wajinga na moyo amba, “Kampepo kyawama kutwajijila kwikala kwa kubula pamukwakwa.”
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.
Washilañene milangwe yanji yamoyo ne Thomas. Pakupitapo kimye uno shetu wamutundaike amba bwikalo bwakonsha kupimpulwa inge wayako kumpunzha yakatataka.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Nanchi ponkapo Magozwe wavilukijile mu kibamba kimo kya nzubo yaji kyamusemi wa manzhamatamba. Magozwe waikelenga mukino kibamba naba kwabo bansongwalume babiji. Bonse pano bansongwalume bajinga jikumi muyoya nzubo. Muno munzubo mwajinga ba Cissy ne benakwabo, bakabwa basatu, kamenshi 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 sukuulu kabiji kyamukatezhe. Wajinga na byavula bya kukeba kuyuka. Kimye kimo wakebanga kwibileka. Pano walangulukanga pa waendeshanga ndeke ne wapamanga mpila mu mashimikila. Nobe ano mashimikila, 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 mulubanza panzubo yamusemi wamanzhamatamba saka atanga buuku wa mashimikila kufuma kusukuulu. Thomas waishile ne kwikala peepi ne Magozwe. Thomas wamwipwizhe amba, “Nanchi jishimikila jibena kwamba paka?” Magozwe wakumbwile amba, “Jishimikila jibena kwamba pa mwanyike wamulume waikele mufunjishi,” Thomas waipwizhe jikwabo amba nachi wajinga ñanyi jizhina awa nsongwalume?” Magozwe waambile nakumwemwesela amba,” jizhina janji 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.
