The Cumbe family was good to us. They had a child of my age by the name of Francisco Samuel. His family was well off, and Francisco was going to start school that same year. He was the one who invited me to register with him at the school he was going to attend. Therefore, I joined him. The year was 1940.
The name of the school we were to attend was known as “Escola de Santos Antonio de Lisboa do Rio Pedras”. It was a long distance from where we stayed, more or less 15 km. My friend and I journeyed together. I was walking, and he was riding on a donkey provided by his family . I was not bothered by the journey because I was used to such long distances. Sometimes he used to give me a ride on his donkey, but most of the time, I would be the one walking. On arrival at the school, we went to the office to register our names. I was happy that I was going to start studying. Despite the long journey, I was determined to succeed at school.
On the second day I woke my friend early, as I wanted to make sure that we did not arrive late.I didn’t want to be dismissed the first time we attended school. We were the first ones to arrive at the school that day. We arrived even before those who stayed nearby.
The lessons started that day, and I enjoyed every moment of it. For the first time I was fortunate to study the Portuguese language. It was a good experience for me.
Arriving early was our daily routine. We got used to the journey. I was doing well at school and my teacher, José Malate, was happy with my performance. My friend, Francisco, was not doing that well at school.
Mr. Malate taught us for the first year and then left. The following year another teacher, who was known as Ernesto Matenga Massinga, joined us. He was also very happy with my performance. He always monitored my schoolwork. He told me that we were family, for I was from the family of the chieftaincy, and that I was supposed to do better than the rest.
I used to achieve the highest marks in exams, and all the teachers liked me. One day Mr. Massinga called me to have a chat, man to man. He told me that he was happy with my performance. Therefore, he wanted me to stay with him so that he could offer his assistance whenever I needed it. He told me that he was worried about the long journey I took from home to school. Sometimes he could see that I had nothing to eat.
I wanted to accept Mr. Massinga’s offer. He was so generous. I had only one problem that I couldn’t discuss with anybody – my younger brother. He was under my care, and could not take care of himself. He needed my help. I had to give Mr. Massinga a reply soon. ‘Sir, thank you for your offer. I have to discuss it with my parents.’ I was lying. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. I had no parents. I was the parent myself. He told me to come back with the reply the next day.
The following day I told him that my parents refused to let me stay with him. He was so disappointed, but accepted it. He emphasized that he wanted to help. He saw that, although I was doing well at school, I was struggling.
I passed to the next class the following year. By then, I had decided to register my younger brother, Kanyane, at the same school. I was happy with my brother’s performance. The following year, I advanced to the third class, and my brother to the second. Now, the third class was the highest grade I could achieve at Escola de Santos de Lisboa do Rio Pedras, and I passed it very well.
I wanted to continue with my education, but I had no idea of how to further my studies. I went to speak to Mr. Massinga, who told me about a school that offered a fourth class. The school was in Morrumbene and it was called “Missãu de Santa Maria de Mocodoeni”. Mr. Massinga advised me to speak to the Director of that school, but he did not tell me who he/she was.
No comments:
Post a Comment