MY LIFE STORY: Reminiscing my childhood moments: 10: Age four, travelling with my parents to Dar, Arusha, Tanga and catching a ship (MV Maendeleo to Wete port, Pemba) 9: Age five, starting kindergarten, where my late father used to draw me sketches of cowboy portraits every time I passed his office nearby on my way to our flat. 8: Age six: My only young sister joining the same kindergarten, on my second year. I became obsessed with protecting her from my male friends. She was never into any trouble with anyone because I was known for giving my fellow kids a good beating when they misbehaved. 7: Age six: Secretly going to the beach to learn swimming, borrowing canoes and rowing them into the mangroves during the high tide. 6: Age six: Not a good swimmer, missed to catch a fender of the barge moored at side of the old pier in Mkoani (my hometown) at high tide (approx 3.5 meters depth), drowned into the narrow gap btn the barge and the pier, went to the bottom twice while gulping seawater and fighting for my life, and eventually my neighbour (Dulla aka Kunde) rushed at the side, grabbed my hand and pulled me out! They wanted to lay me down and choke the water out of my lungs, but I fled the sight and no one could cope with my running speed haha! Got severe beating from my mother for the incident. I stopped going to swim for 3 long months...... 5. Age six: 3 months after drowning incident, I braved the sea and went swimming again, fearless, and it took me only 2 days to completely master buoyancy and became one of the fastest swimmer in the town. 4. Age 7: I, Rashid Mkongwe and Wahidi set the town record for the farthest swim from the port, 1.5 kms to Jaalani village. Meanwhile, the old lady was told her son is a good swimmer, so she stopped punishing me. 3. Age 8: Joining primary school from the kindergarten with the same group of kids from there. Met the new bigger boys there so my Alpha status was challenged...only for a short while. I managed to establish a good relationship with the naughtiest of them, so we became a team. 2. Age 9: Blessed with skills to make good drawings, I started to draw every single boat or ship that used to dock at Mkoani port and sold my drawings to captains and crew for a good price. I made enough money to buy my own clothes, shoes, books, etc and got free tickets to travel whenever I wished. The old lady was my treasurer. The only other kid who could draw better was Hemed Mapicha. This kid was a pure talent in drawing just about everything and we were good friends until I left the town in 1994. We were the two popular kids on that art in town and we used to keep drawing books for showing off, and we both made good money from it. I would say he was better with portraits, something I couldnt master so well. My drawings were more detailed. i wouldnt miss a thing! 1. Age 13: 1993 Standard 7 exams. I bet with Khatib, the kid who joined our school from the mainland and used to be 1st or 2nd in his class every term, where my average results were matching his. The betting was on who would make it to MICHEPUO between us, and we bet TZS 3,000 equivalent of todays TZS 30,000. When the results were announced, there were two kids who made it; Amour, who was never in the picture, and me, where my results were received with mixed feelings from some of my teachers. I was among the hard knocks of the school, but I made it nonetheless. :D I decided to forgive Khatib as a consolation for missing out and I moved to another town (Wete) in the North of Pemba for my new academic life. TO BE CONTINUED.......
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 10:07:15 +0000
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