Miyoba looked at the food that he had just picked up. It looked so delicious except for the maggots. The other boy on the other side was also looking at the same food. Both boys were trying to pick the same food.
“What are you looking at?” Miyoba asked the other boy.
“You’ve got what I wanted,” the other boy responded.
“You also pick from here?” Asked Miyoba shockingly.
He had never seen a boy like him in this part of town. He was surprised that such a boy could be picking things from bins. He always thought that boys like him were the ones throwing things in the bins after getting tired of eating.
“Even people like you pick from bins?” He asked again.
“Am I not a person as well?” The new boy responded.
As the two boys argued on who was to get the food in the bin, a security guard saw them.
“Get out of there!” He shouted, “If I come there, you will all be in trouble.”
The boys just looked at him without moving. The security guard made a move towards the two boys. When the boys saw this, they ran as fast as they could. They ran down Kwacha road towards another mall. They were laughing as they ran. They ran to the bridge and went and sat on the rails. They sat and shared the meal they had just got from the bins.
“My name is Miyoba,” He said as he extended his hand to his new found friend.
“I am Dylan but you can call me Bupe,” said the new boy.
“Bupe, a white boy called Bupe,” chuckled Miyoba.
“Yes, I am Zambian,” Dylan said.
“I have never seen a white boy in the streets, what happened to you?” Miyoba asked.
“I ran away from home,” He responded.
“Why run away from home to live in this bad place?”
“My guardians used to beat me up every day, so I ran away,” he said, “what about you?”
“I came to sell things with my grandmother but she died while we were here,” Miyoba said, “I didn’t know my way back home.”
“We need to find a new home then,” Dylan suggested.
“Yes, but not here in the city,” Miyoba said, “not on the streets.”
“Where can we find a new place?” Dylan asked.
“I heard of a place in Masaiti,” Miyoba said, “my grandmother used to tell me about this beautiful village.”
“A village?”
“Yes, I am told there are no street kids,” Miyoba responded, “every kid is taken care of.”
“You mean they love every kid who is not even their own?” Dylan asked.
“Yes, my grandmother told me that in Africa they treat each other as brothers and sisters.”
“Wow,” Dylan said, “I have never had a nice family.”
“My grandmother said that street kids are only found in the city,” Miyoba said.
“Let’s go,” Dylan said, “I don’t want to be a street kid anymore.”
The two boys set out for the village. They asked people for directions and soon they were on their way. A kind driver gave them a lift on his truck. He dropped them at Fiwale junction and told them to walk on a narrow path. The boys walked for hours. They were hungry. They sat down under a tree. They were wondering where they would get something to eat. An old woman came towards them. She was carrying some sweet potatoes and groundnuts. She said to them after she saw them.
“My grandchildren help me carry this luggage,” she said to them.
“Yes, grandmother,” they responded.
The boys were happy. No one had ever called them that in the city. They carried and followed her to her home. It was a beautiful place. She lived on a farm house. The farm house was near a beautiful stream. There were trees along the stream. The place looked like paradise.
“Where is your home, boys?” she asked.
“We don’t have a home,” they responded, “we live on the streets.”
“This is your new home now,” she said to them.
The boys were happy to be in a new place. The following day, she took them to school.
Read – Lindiwe’s Nightmare – A Children’s Story by Pelekani Lwenje, Zambia
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