Tio-fɔrɔ na wo Nairobi ne to ye ko ŋwae de sɔŋɔ kolo ba na ni bia balo na ba jege tiina ba ni ba to wora. Ba zaane tipora maama de ka na poori tei to mo. Tetente dedoa mo bia bam zaŋe ba piri ba sare ba na pene pwoone yiga ne de waaro to. Bá maa dwe mini se bá weere bá li bá waaro. Magozwe ye bakeiri sem wo dedoa mo. Wonto mo ye bá nyaane.
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 tiina na tiga to, o deem ta ye bena yanu mo. O ma vu o zoore de o nabera. Nɔɔno wom wó ni bu wom lanyerane. O ba pae Magozwe wudiu dedɛ. O pae bakeira kam toŋe totoŋ-dɛɛra mo.
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 na poone naa o na bwei o na bera wom kolo, o yeine o maŋe o mo. Magozwe ná bwei ne o wo wane o vu sikuli na. O nabera wom wo mage-o mo o daare o ta we, “Nmo ye jworo mo se n wane n lɔre woŋo.” O na zu dedaane o bena yatɔ to, Magozwe duri mo o nabera wom tei ne, o bobo o tege pwooni ne.
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.
Pwooni ŋwea chamma mo, ko maa pa se bakeiri sem kwaane dɛ wone se bá na bá ni wodiu. Maŋa kadwoŋe ne, bá yeine ba ja bá mo. Maŋa kadwoŋe ne bá maa mage bá. Bá ná weela bá ba nae wola. Bia bam kwaane de sabu fenfee kolo bá na lwoori to mo, de kolo bá na yeige maaro de ba na yeine ba jwoori ba fɔge wonnu telo to mo. Ŋwea chamma dedɛ bɛŋwaane jara de bia badwonna balo na lage se ba taa tei jega kam tio kom ne to mo.
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.
Dɛ dedoa mo Magozwe wo puuri baŋane o nia, pa se o na tɔn-dwoŋ-kikɔrɔ o kwei o guguni ko lanyerane o ke ywolo wone. Dɛ maama o wó kwei tɔnɔ kom mo o ni nyenyro telo na wo ko wone to, bɛ-waane o ware o ga tɔnɔ kom.
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.
Nyenyero tem bere sensɔla na tɛ bakeirebu na lage se o chwo luu-zuŋa to mo. Magozwe maa teene se o de chwo luu-zuŋa. Maŋa kadwoŋe ne o yeine o bɔŋe we wonto mo ye bu wolo na wo sensɔla kam wone to.
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.
Waaro mo wora ye Magozwe zege chwoŋa ni ne o lwoora. Baaro maa vu o yi o tei, “Dɛ n lei amo ye Thomas mo. A toŋe bwolabwola ywo mo, mɛ n na wo na wodiu n di to.” O maa bere sɔŋɔ na turi de sun-muni ye ko pu de wɛyuu nyenyego to. “Ajege teena we n na vei da n wó na wodiu?” o na bwei. Magozwe maa ni baaro wom de sɔŋɔ kom ye o leire. “Dɛ doŋe,” o daare o maa kɛa.
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.
Chane selo na kɛ to bakeire bia balo na tege pwoone ne to laam me de Thomas jega kam ne mo. O swoe se o taa ŋɔɔne de nɔɔna mo. Ko fɔge ko dae balo na tege pwoone ne to. Thomas yeine o cheige nɔɔna bam konto ŋwea na vei tei to mo. O jege maŋa o pa ba, o ba ke bane de ba o dae wolo na bá pae ba zula to. Bakeirebia bam badwonna bobo ba vei sɔŋɔ kolo na turi de sun-muni de wɛyuu nyenyego to mo ba di wia ne.
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 jei chwoŋa ni ne mo o ni o nyenyero tɔnɔ kom ye Thomas ba jeine o twɛ-o. “Sensɔla kam tɛ bɛ taane mo?” Thomas bwei. “Ka tɛ bakeirebu wolo na jege luuzuŋa chworo taane mo,” Magozwe leire. “Bo keirebu wom yere mo bɛ?” Thomas daa bwei. “Amo yeire. A ware a ga,” Magozwe leire tigatiga.
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.
Bá daa na ba jeere daane to Magozwe bobo o tɛ o ŋwea na ye tei mo o pae Thomas. Ko ye o nabera wom taane de kolo na pɛ se o duri o sɔŋɔ ne to mo. Thomas wó tage taane dedɛ, o nam wó tage Magozwe o na wo ke kolo to. Amaa o yeine o daane o cheige mo. Maŋa kadwoŋe ne bá ŋɔɔne ye ba di mo sŋɔŋ kolo na jege wɛyuu nyenyego ne to mo.
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.
Ko na ba yi Magozwe bena fuga loradɛ to, Thomas pɛ o sensɔla tɔn-doŋo mo. Senɔɔla kam deem tɛ bakeire bu wodwoŋe na nuŋi tio-balaŋa ne to, o ba o je bɔl-mageno pa nɔɔna dedɛ yei-o to mo. Thomas gage sensɔla kam o pa Magozwe kuni dedɛ pa se dɛ dedoa o maa ta owe, “A bɔŋe we maŋa yia se n vu sikuuli n zamse garem. Nmo boŋe tɛ mo?” Thomas maa we, o yei jeiga kalo bia na wó vu bá taa wora ye bá zamesa to.
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 ma boŋe jei-doŋa kam de sikuuli veiŋa kam boboŋa. Se a nabera taane dem na ye chega ye a na vei sikuuli ye a wo lɔre kolokolo? Se ba na mage ne jei-doŋa kam ne? Foomi ma ja-o. “Ko wó taa lamma se a ta wo pwoone ne mo,” o na boŋe tei mo kɔnto.
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.
O maa ta o o foone dem o bere Thomas. Dɛ delo bu wom ŋwea wó leire o na vei jei-doŋa kam ne.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Magozwe maa vu o zo diga na wo sɔŋɔ na pugi de saonyua to. O de bakeirebia balei mo zoori diga kam wone. Sɔŋɔ kom wone bia fuga mo zoori da. Banto de bia kwo nakɔ o yere na ye Cissy to de o baro, kukuri setɔ, digabu de buŋ-kweo mo zoora.
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 bobo sikuuli ye ko maa chamma. O jege se o ga dedɛ mo se o wane o yi o dwonna bam. Maŋa kadwoŋe ne o yeine o lage se o yage. Amaa o na boŋe luu-zuŋa chworo de bɔl-mageno wom na wo sensɔla tɔnɔ kom wone to pa se o ba yaga. Adwonna na wane ba ke to a de baá yage.
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 jei sɔŋɔ kolo na pugi sao-nyua to kunkɔlɔ ne mo o gare sensɔla tɔnɔ o na jaane o nuŋi sikuuli ne to. Thomas maa ba o jeine. “Sensɔla kam tɛ bɛ taane mo?” Thomas bwei-o. “Ka tɛ bakeirebu wolo na ye bereno to taane mo,” Magozwe leire-o. “Bakeira kam yere mo bɛ?” Thomas daa bwei. “Ka yere mo Magozwe,” Magozwe ma pa mɔŋɔ.
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.
