Toropong ye nngwe ya go dula e nyeuma batho, kgolekgole le bophelo bja go hlokomelwa bja ka gae, go be go dula sehlopha sa bašemane ba go hloka magae. Bašemane ba, ba be ba thabela go bona matšatši a hlaba a šuthelelana. Mosong wo mongwe, bašemane ba be ba phutha magogwa a bona morago ga go robala mabatong a go tonya. Go leka go raka phefo, ba ile ba gotša mollo ka ditlakala. Gare ga sehlopha seo sa bašemane, go be go na le yoo a bitšwago Magozwe. E be e le yo monnyane go bona ka moka.
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.
Ge batswadi ba Magozwe ba hlokafala, o be a na le mengwaga ye mehlano fela. O ile a ya go dula le malome wa gagwe. Monna yo o be a sa mokgathalle. O be a sa mofe dijo tšeo di lekanego. O be a mo fa mošomo wo montši kudu.
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.
Ge Magozwe a ipelaetša goba a botšiša, malome wa gagwe o be a mmetha. Ge Magozwe a botšiša ge eba a ka ya sekolong, o be a mmetha a be a re, “O setlaela seo se ka se ithutego selo.” Morago ga mengwaga ye meraro ya tshwaro ye mpe ye, Magozwe o ile a tšhaba ga malome wa gagwe. O ile a thoma go dula mebileng.
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.
Bophelo bja mebileng bo be bo le bothata kudu. Bašemane ba bantši ba be ba swara boima go hwetša dijo. Ka nako ye nngwe ba be ba swarwa goba ba bethwa. Ge ba lwala go be go sena yoo a ba thušago. Sehlopha seo se be se phela ka tšhelete yeo ba e kgopelago bathong le go rekiša diplastiki le didirišwa tšeo di mpshafatšwago. Bophelo bo be bo le gape boima kudu ka lebaka la dintwa le dihlopha tše dingwe tša bašemane ba marabele bao ba bego ba rata go tšea taolo ya dikarolo tše dingwe tša toropo.
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.
Ka tšatši le lengwe ge Magozwe a be a nyaka ka gare ga diolelamatlakala, o ile a hwetša puku ya dikanegelo, ya kgale, yeo e bego e gagogile. O ile a e phumola ditšhila gomme a e lokela ka gare ga lesaka la gagwe. Letšatši le lengwe le le lengwe o be a ntšha puku yeo a bogela diswantšho. O be a sa kgone go bala mantšu ao a ngwetšwego.
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.
Diswantšho di be di hlaloša kanegelo ya mošemane yoo a ilego a gola a rata go ba mootledi wa difofane. Mosegare Magozwe o be a lora e le yena mootledi wa difofane. Ka nako ye nngwe o be a ipona e le yena mošemane yoo wa ka kanegelong.
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.
Ka letšatši le lengwe go tonya, Magozwe o be a eme mmileng a kgopela bafeti. Monna yo mongwe o ile a tla go yena. “Dumela, ke nna Thomas. Ke šoma mo kgauswi, lefelong leo o ka hwetšago dijo,” monna yoo a realo. Monna yoo o ile a šupa ntlo ya go pentwa ka mmala wa namune, yeo e ruletšwego ka tlhaka ye tala lerata. “Ke tshepa gore o tla ya gona gore o hwetše dijo,” monna yoo a realo a laetša go re o a mo kgopela. Magozwe o ile a lebelela monna yoo, a lebelela gape le ntlo yeo. “Mohlomongwe,” a realo Magozwe gomme a sepela.
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.
Mo dikgweding tša go latela, bašemane ba mmileng ba tlwaela go bona sefahlego sa Thomas lefelong leo la bona. O be a rata go bolela le batho, kudu bao ba dulago mebileng. Thomas o be a theeletša dikanegelo tša batho tša maphelo a bona. O be a tloga a tiišitše go seo a se dirago a sa felepelo, a bontšha hlompha e sego lenyatšo. Ba bangwe ba bašemane ba ile ba thoma go ya moo ntlong ya mmala wo serolwane le tala lerata go hwetša dijo mo mosegareng.
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 o be a dutše lebatong la mmileng a bogetše puku ya gagwe ya diswantšho, ge Thomas a fihla a dula kgauswi le yena. “Na kanegelo e bolela ka eng?” Thomas a botšiša. “E bolela ka mošemane yoo a ilego a ba mofofiši wa difofane,” Magozwe a fetola ka go realo. “Na leina la mošemane yoo ke mang?” gwa botšiša Thomas. “Ga ke tsebe, ga ke kgone go bala,” Magozwe a realo a bolelela tlase.
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.
Ba ile ba re ge ba kopane ka letšatši le lengwe, Magozwe a thoma go anegelaThomas ditaba tša gagwe. O be a anega ka ga malome wa gagwe le go re ke ka baka la eng a tšhabile gae. Thomas o be a sa bolele kudu, le gona gase a botša Magozwe go re a dire eng, efela o be a mo theeletša ka šedi. Ka nako ye nngwe ba be ba bolela ge ba le dijong gona kua ntlong ya tlhaka ye tala lerata.
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.
Ge Magozwe a fetša mengwaga ye lesome ya matswalo, Thomas o ile a mo fa puku ye mpšha ya dikanegelo. Puku ye e be e bolela ka mošemane wa go dula magaeng yoo a ilego a ba sebapadi sa go tuma sa kgwele ya maoto. Thomas o ile a balela Magozwe kanegelo yeo makga a mantši go fihlela ka letšatši le lengwe a re, “Ke nagana gore ke nako ya go re o ye sekolong o ithute go bala. Wena o e bona bjang taba ye?” Thomas o ile a hlaloša go re o tseba lefelo leo bana ba dulago go lona gomme ba kgona go ya sekolong.
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 o ile a nagana ka lefelo leo le le swa le go ya sekolong. A ipotšiša ga eba malome wa gagwe o be a sa bolele nnete naa, ge a be a re ke setlaela sa go se kgone go ithuta selo? Gona ge a ka bethwa gona moo lefelong leo le le swa? O be a tšhoga. “Mohlomongwe go kaone go dula mebileng,” a nagana bjalo.
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 ile a hlalošetša Thomas maikutlo ao a go tšhoga. Ge nako e ntše e eya, Thomas a mo netefaletša gore bophelo bo ka ba kaone moo lefelong le leswa.
He shared his fears with Thomas. Over time the man reassured the boy that life could be better at the new place.
Go ile gwa ba bjalo, Magozwe a ya go dula ntlong ya tlhaka ye talamorogo. O be a dula le bašemane ba ba bedi ka phapošing e tee. Palo ka moka ya bašemane bao ba bego ba dula moo legaeng e be e le ba lesome. Ba be ba dula gape le Mmane Sissi le monna wa gagwe, dimpša tše tharo, katse le pudi ya go tšofala.
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 o ile a thoma go ya sekolong le ge go be go le bothata go yena. Go be go na le tše ntši tšeo a bego a swanetše go ithuta tšona. Ka nako ye nngwe o be a tlelwa ke kgopolo ya go tlogela. Efela a tlelwe ke kgopolo ya mofofiši wa difofane le sebapadi sa kgwele ya maoto bale ba ka gare ga dipuku tša dikanegelo. Go no swana le bona, le yena o ile a se nyame.
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.
Ka letšatši le lengwe Magozwe o be a dutše ka ntle gona moo ntlong ya tlhaka ye talamorogo, a bala puku ya dikanegelo go tšwa sekolong. Thomas o ile a tla a dula kgauswi le yena. “Na kanegelo e bolela ka eng?” Thomas a mmotšiša. “E bolela ka mošemane yoo a ilego a ba morutiši,” Magozwe a fetola. “Na leina la mošemane yoo ke mang?” Thomas a botšiša. “Leina la gagwe ke Magozwe,” Magozwe a fetola bjalo ka go myemyela.
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.
