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Monkurumbara zoyiviyauka yoyinzi zaNairobi, kwa likara ure unene neparu lyepakerosinka lyekembo, amo kwa kere mo vamati va hana mauturo. Awo ngava tambura ko nkenye ezuva ngali si nsene lina wiza. Pongurangura zimwe, vamati kuna kurongera yipakote yawo konyima zokurara porugorongwa runa tende. Awo kwa hwamekere mokuruganesa yihando yipo va tjide mufu. Mokutji kombunga zowo vamati, gumwe gwawo Magozwe. Age kwa kere yige gomunona po kovakwawo.
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.
Apa va dogorokere vakurona vaMagozwe, age nomvhura dendi ntano tupu. Age kwa zire a ka tunge nahekurwendi. Mugara ogu kapi ga ka vhulire kupakera mbili munona ogu. Kapi nga pe Magozwe nondja dokugwanena. Age nga ninki mumati a rugane yirugana youdigu unene.
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.
Nye nsene asi Magonze a gava rusivano, hekurwendi nga mu toona. Magonze apa ga pulilire ko asi nsene kuvhura a ze kosure, hekurwendi kwa mu toonene ntani no ku mu tantera asi, “Ove domu kapi tovhuru kulironga yuma.” Konyima zonomvura ntatu domuteku gwina Magonzwe yipo ga tjwayukire membo lyahekurwendi. Age yipo ga ka tungire mositarata.
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.
Eparu lyomositarata kwa kere lyedigu ntani sinzi sovamati ngava dere noudigu nkenye ezuva mo ku gwana nondja. Poyiruwo yimwe ngava va tura monodorongo, poyiruwo yimwe ngava va toona. Ano nsene tava vere, kwato ogu nga vhuru ku va pa mbatero. Mbunga zawo nazinye kwa demenenene zoozo silinga ngava gwana moyihundagera, ndi mokurandesa yiplastika and nayimwe eyi yokuvhura kuyiruganusurura. Eparu kwa ya kere lina digopa morwa nombunga dovamati edi nga di lirwanesa mo ku kondjera efundo lyokuvhura kupangera komaruha gamwe gonkurumbara.
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.
Ezuva limwe age Magonze kuna kunokera megarona lyoyihando, age to gwana book zokunyata zomasanseko. Age kwa zikokotere nyata ezi zakere ko ntani tazi tura monsako zendi. Nkenye ezuva apa nga pwagesa buke nokutara mafano. Age kapi ga divire asi ngapi na resa nondanda.
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.
Efano eli kwa simwitilire esanseko lyomumati ogu ga kulire dogoro a ka kare musingi gonondira. Magonze nage ga kere nonzodi zo ku ka kara musingi gonondira. Poyiruwo yimwe, nage ngalitungire kafano asi yige mwene vasimwitira mesanseko.
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.
Kwa kere ko mufu ano Magonze kwa sikeme konontere dositaura a hundagere. Mugara gumwe ta wiza pepi nendi. “Moroka mumati, edina lyange nyame Thomas. Ame kurugana pepi nevango eli, pevango eli novhura kugwana sokulya nkenye,” yimo ga uyungire mugara. Age ta like kembo lyosinauhenga lyoyipereki yosinauguru. “Nina sihuguvara novhura ku za po o ka gwane ko yuma yokulya? yimo ga pulire. Magozwe ta tara ogo mugara, ntani hena ta tara kembo lina. “Mpamwe,” yimo ga uyungire, ntani ta ka genda a ka ka ze kopeke.
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.
Momakwedi aga ga kweme ko, vamati ava vadilire uturo kwa kere vana yiki kumona-mona Thomas pokangilingili kawo. age kwa here kuzogera novantu, unene po vantu ava va tunga mositarata. Thomas nga purakena masanseko gomaparu govantu. Age kwa kere munasinka ntani mulididimiki, kapi ga peke nyanya nampili nakauke ndi a dire efumadeko. Vamati vamwe kwa ya tamekere kuza pembo lyosinauhenga nosinauguru va ka gwane nondja pomuzuhwa.
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 kwa hingilire porugorongwa oku ta tara mafano mobuke apa Thomas ga wizire a ya hingire pepi nendi. “Esanseko kosinke lina hamene?” yimo ga pulire Thomas. “Kuna hamene komumati ogu ga ka kere musingi gonodira,” yige Magozwe. “Mumati edina lyendi yige yilye?” yimo ga pulire Thomas. “Kapi tani diva, ame kapi na diva kuresa,” yimo gauyungire Magozwe nezwi lyokuwowota.
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.
Apa va ligwene, Magozwe kwa tamekera kutantera Thomas kuhamena eparu lyendi. Eli kwa kere esanseko lyahekurwendi ntani konda ezi ga dukilire ko. Thomas kapi nga uyunga unene, ntani kapi ga tanterere Magozwe asi yisinke narugana, nye age nkenye apa ngapurakene nelituromo. Poyiruwo yimwe ngava zogere awo kuna kulya pembo lyoyipereki yosinauguru.
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 kwa kere siruwo saMagozwe sokulikokere kegwaneso nomvhura murongo, Thomas yipo ga mu pere go buke zomasanseko zompe. Azo kwa kere zesanseko lyomumati gopomukunda ogu ga kulire a ka kare mudani gombara zokusanga gokudivikwa. Thomas kwa reserere Magozwe esanseko lina yikando yoyinzi, dogoro ezuva limwe ta uyunga asi, “Ame kuna ku gazara asi siruwo esi kuvhura ku za kosure ntani o ka lironge kuresa. Ngapi ono ku gazara?” Thomas fwaturura asi age ga divire ko evango limwe oku vanona ngava vhuru ku kara, ntani yipo va ze kosure.
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 kwa kere nomagazaro kuhamena evega eli lyepe, ntani kuhamena kudimba sure. Ngapi nsene tupu nye nsene asi hekurwendi mouhunga ga kere ntani age nsene sili domu kapi ta vhuru kulironga yuma? Ngapi nsene ngava ka mu toonena ko kevega eli lyepe? Age kwa kere noutjirwe. “Mpamwe hansa tupu ku kara mositarata,” yimo ga gazarere.
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.
Age pwageserere Thomas woma ou ga kere nawo. Momazuva aga ga kweme ko, mugara ogu ta huguvaresa mumati asi eparu kuvhura li ka wape kevega lina lyepe.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Ntani Magozwe kwa zire a ka tunge membo lyakere noyipereki yosinamahako. Age kwa ka kere monzugo zimwe novamati vakwawo vavali. Nampili ngomu pwa kere asi vanona wokusika komurongo va tungire pembo eli. Kwa ka kere kumwe nonane Cissy ntani nomuswamane gwawo, nombwa ntatu, mbisi, ntani sikombo sokukurupa.
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 kwa tamekere kudimba sure ntani kwa mu digoperere. Age kwa kere ana kara ure unene konyima. Poyiruwo yimwe nga gazara kutunda mo mosure. Nye ta gazara kuhamena usingi nondira ntani ku ka kara mudani gombara zokusanga eyi va simwitira monobuke domasanseko. Ana hara a ka kare ngwendi yiwo, kapi ta vhuru kuhageka sure.
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 kwa hingilire peharango lyembo lyoyipereki yosinamahako, age kuna kuresa buke zomasanseko zokosure. Thomas ta wiza no ku ya hingira pepi nendi. “Esanseko kosinke lina hamena?” yimo ga pulire Thomas. “Alyo kuna hamene mumati ogu ga ka kere mitili,” yimo gauyungire Magozwe. “Edina lyomumati ogo yilyo yilye?” yimo ga pulire Thomas. “edina lyendi yige Magozwe,” yimo ga uyungire Magozwe nemenyamenyo.
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.
