EVERY CHILD IS AN UNTOLD STORY.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?," the teacher asked, leaning back into his almost rotten, broken black chair in which he always sat carefully, supported by the deteriorating, dirty classroom walls. His voice could be heard by anyone who could pass near by his classroom. All students were attentive and eager to hear the response from this slim, miserable and unhealthy Hakuzari. Few students from his village knew that both his parents had died after succumbing to the ravages of unknown terrible disease, which children were not allowed to mention except the elders. His father was the first to die, followed by his mother few months later, leaving Hakuzari in the guidance of his very old maternal grandmother. He loved his grandmother. She had been everything he had. Every day, early in the morning, she cooked corn porridge for him." Children of these days are too much fragile like eggs, that’s why they like eating eggs and bread at breakfast. Eat porridge, this will make you strong my son," she always said these words to her grandchild.

             The impoverished little creature staggered, pulling slowly his wooden chair by his back out from the desk. He stood up, fixing his tinny eyes directly into the teacher's. The classroom fell into total silence, and all the students were looking at Hakuzari, as he opened with difficulty his cracked dehydrated dark lips. “I………, I …… just …want to be someone…..hmm... important, to help my grandmother,” the little boy coiled, hesitating to continue talking. He even felt embarrassed after hearing a thunder of laughter from every corner of the classroom. Mr Tadya stood up furious. He was not expecting this sort of answer after having heard a series of wonderful responses as other students shouted, “I want to be a doctor, teacher, accountant, lawyer…” the list was endless. The teacher had given to the students this task as homework on the previous day so that their parents and elder siblings could help them. However, when Hakuzari asked for help from his grandmother, who was busy cooking yams, she just laughed, poking the fire with a thin firewood and said she wished she had gone to school.

             “You skinny, filthy, stupid black creature, tell me a profession not those silly unthought words." Mr Tadya’s strong voice echoed in the whole classroom. He was notorious of his grotesque manner of treating students. It was said around the school that once he had beaten a well-known stubborn boy from Mbawa village. Consequently, the miserable boy defecated in his pants, which worsened his situation when the teacher asked him to eat his feces. Hakuzari trembled as the teacher's voice echoed, while he was busy imagining the stubborn boy's tragedy. He did not want this to happen to him. "Sir ….hmmm," he started with his explanation. “I’ am not really acquainted with professional names, and aah… my grandmother told me that we can't foretell the future, so don’t know now who I am going to be in the future. She told me that the future is unseen and we don’t have to worry about it since it comes soon". The boy sat down, expecting the worst from his teacher."huuuuuuu! Granny’s little baby," Gachi shouted from the corner, at the back of the classroom, and everybody broke into laughter again. Unexpectedly, the teacher lowered his voice as he walked towards Hakuzari. “Boy, I understand life is a pain in the flesh of everyone, but sometimes we do have to assume as if everything was good. With whom do you live, I ….” The bell rang loudly so that it cut the teacher's words. Everyone grabbed their bags as it was time for break.

            Hakuzari walked out of the classroom, holding nothing in his hands except the almost finished blue ball point pen in his weary khaki shirt pocket. He watched enviously small groups of students from different grades, as they walked to different directions. Some were holding their lunch boxes containing delicious food, which their parents had prepared, while others had some money to buy fruits like avocado pear, bananas, oranges and pieces of sugarcane. There were always some women who came from different villages to sell edible things to the students.

             From a group of four boys behind Hakuzari, someone threw a dirty plastic ball, which knocked his head. He fell down from the impact, hitting the ground with his round, small face. He looked at the ball as it rolled down the incline. The boys started laughing, pointing their fingers at poor Hakuzari who was wiping dust from his face and spitting some soil, which had entered his mouth. He wanted to cry, but he remembered that before her mother had died, she had often said to him, “a man doesn’t cry". These familiar words from a familiar voice made him strong and triggered the memories of her mother’s lovely and beautiful face. She was perfect, he thought for a while. A sharp voice interrupted his thoughts like a lightning as Gachi yelled. “You granny's boy, go and pick up my ball".   

        

            The ball had finally got into the green stagnant contaminated waters caused by the heavy rain from the previous week. Many students approached the scene. Little girls and boys of grade one, two and three were whispering something to each other's ears." Is he going to beat him," one little girl without two front teeth asked her friend. "Yes, Gachi is the toughest and big boy of this school," her friend answered. "I thought that the strongest people should protect the weak ones". "Yes the strongest kids must protect the weak, my mother told me, that’s why I protect my little sister from monsters". "Did you hear me" Gachi said vehemently. Hakuzari coiled, as he went down the incline to get the ball. Chido and her friends had seen all the episodes in their chronological order. She stood up quickly from where she had been enjoying eating sweet potatoes and cassava with her friends, ran quickly towards Hakuzari who was now extending his hand towards the dirty water. “Stop!" she yelled. Her sharp accentuated voice broke all the whispers and groans into complete silence. All the students who were watching the drama eyeballed her. “Don’t pick that ball up, if Gachi wants his ball, he will get it himself. And as a matter of fact, you…." She pointed her thin and delicate finger at Gachi who seemed to have been perplexed by Chido's defiant manner, “...are going to pick that ball alone and stop lingering around this school looking for victims".

            Chido was a famous grade 7 little girl, well known by her beauty, punctuality, respect, intelligence and heroic manner of tackling issues. She had studied at this school since her first grade to the present day. She had convinced all her teachers to be an outstanding student in both sports and academic tasks at Gatsi Primary School. She loved her school and school mates. All teachers and parents who knew her were very proud of her. The headmaster nominated her the school head girl, after she had rescued a little grade one student from drowning in the flooded Mtarazi River, which flows just a mile distant from the school. “I don’t fight little girls, so it’s better you stay out of my way" Gachi spoke slowly, squinting his eyes, ready to take any belligerent action. “Try to touch me or him, I will report straight away to our class teacher. I think you still have fresh memories of what he did to that stubborn boy. Today he will do the same to you. Gachi's friends moved closer to him and whispered something. They started moving slowly away from him while he was busy reconsidering what Chido had just said. “You are a lucky boy, I hope your little girlfriend will continue saving you forever," Gachi shouted the words pointing his finger at Hakuzari. The school bell rang, which caused an unexpected pandemonium, as all students ran to their respective classrooms.

            Later that day, the weather changed drastically. Strong winds blew through indigenous trees, which surrounded the school yard. Whistling like sound was heard everywhere, as the big trees struggled, moving their branches from side to side. Heavy and dark clouds were vivid, drifting to the eastern part of the district. Some few heavy drops of rain started falling, causing a loud noise on the school zinc roofs. A flash light, like that one from a camera, stroke through the windows, illuminating the whole classroom for a second, then the heavy thunder followed. The announcement was passed to all grades that all students should go home. There was a disorder, as all students ran from the school to their different villages. Just after the main school gate, four wide ,dusty paths could be seen crowded with running students as they parted, extending to four different villages, Mbawa, Tamba, Kwesha and Sanhewe ,which made up Gatsi District. “Why did you defend me from Gachi," the skinny boy shouted, since his voice could not be heard due to the blowing wind, while running very fast trying to catch up with Chido. “There are three types of people, the villains, the victims and the peacemakers. A wise man once told me that". She shouted back as she disappeared around the corner, running and following the bushy path which meandered into Sanhewe village.

Inspired by the story of a bullied old friend,

Written by Bennie Umera

09/07/2017.