African Laughter - Doris May Lessing [104]
Because of Jack fifty or so of these young people can claim they know at least the basics of how to make a newspaper.
Here is a poem written by one of the brightest girls, who has succeeded in spite of difficulties at home in finding a place and light enough to study, or even read. Her father has three wives, her mother being the senior wife. There are twenty children. She is the seventh of eight children. Her family has great expectations for her. She has a thirty-year-old brother who is a primary school teacher.
Where next dear Brothers and Sisters?
I can’t forget the day I came to Kapfunde.
I was full of love and joy for the beautiful school.
Happy students cheered for our arrival.
We were received in a hospitable manner.
I couldn’t believe I was at last at Kapfunde.
When I think of leaving Kapfunde
Where students and teachers live in harmony
I just feel strength going out of me.
I can’t bear the thought of leaving Kapfunde,
But there is nothing to do.
Time to part, from friends and teachers of Kapfunde is drawing near.
But the problem is where next, Form Fours?
We have enjoyed every activity,
And every scrap of food at Kapfunde.
We have stayed here four years.
But sooner or later the problem is to come.
The problem is where to go next, what to do,
Whether you will be behind the headmaster’s desk,
Or somewhere in the streets, Form Four, think of it,
One day you will find yourself prowling and haunting streets,
Wandering in search of jobs.
Goodbye teachers and students of Kapfunde,
I am grateful for the good times we had together,
Students, please keep the Kapfunde alive in you
Be proud of your beautiful school.
But Form Four, where next from Kapfunde?
by Comrade Ruth Chakamanga
This girl took six O-levels. She passed two, was ‘the second-best girl’. She got an A in Shona. She passed maths, the hardest exam. She failed English. Later she retook exams, and now is in teacher training college.
Out of the more than eighty who sat English, six passed. But last year no one passed English.
In Zimbabwe today you need five passes to get a job. With three you can train to be a nurse.
Here is a letter from the school magazine:
Dear Editors. I have a problem concerning our textbooks. I think every student at school has paid $120 but I have found out that when we are in our lessons we always share textbooks. So where is our money going? Does it mean that the money we are paying is not sufficient to buy books? I have noticed that it is a big disadvantage for the Form Fours to share one book between seven people. As we are the people who pay school fees we ought to have one textbook per each person in order for him to get good advantage when reading.
And
A DISASTROUS MEAL
The vagaries of the weather create extremes, periods when food will be abundant and periods of less or no food. This is particularly true with relish problems. There is abundant relish in summer weeds, muboora and okra known as derere. It was in summer, the rains were still going on and people were beginning to fear that the rains would never come to an end. Finally, the rain was over. Muboora and derere were inedible. It was dirty and wet. We had to choose either to go without sadza or to think of something else. Our option was obvious, to think of something else. We had to go and fetch mushrooms. I did this with my two colleagues who were brothers. My mother was happy about our decision.
We arrived at the popular mountain, Chembira, the highest point of Gutu. We found many varieties and many of these were strange to me. I told my other colleagues to adhere to one variety but they just ignored what I was saying. We went back home and we had a delicious meal.
All of us were very much surprised the following day, no one was moving about at our neighbour’s yard. Cattle were complaining that they were still in the kraal while some chickens were giving warning that they