Update 19
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Within ten years of living with Matron Nene and running the orphanage alongside her, Maria did what she said she was going to do – and more. No matter how subtle she tried to be, her greatness manifested itself in that little village.
The first thing she did within a week of living in that orphanage was to use some of the money she had left on her to buy a bicycle with which she transported herself around the village. Then she used majority of the rest of the money to travel back to town to buy stationery. There were more than a dozen children in the orphanage and so she bought exercise books, textbooks, pens and pencils, erasers, crayons, sharpeners, mathematical sets, portable blackboards, chalks, and other learning and teaching materials. The children were highly excited when she brought home all these materials. She had taken Edet along, he was the hardworking boy Matron Nene had said had come to the orphanage after being left to die alone in an evil forest. And Matron Nene had been right; Edet was indeed hardworking, and he spoke Pidgin English in an accent that made Maria laugh most times. She immediately liked him on the first day, for the boy was not only strong, he was also quite diligent. He carried most of the educational materials when they were returning from the town. He had been excited to go with Maria, for he had never left the little village since the day he walked to Matron Nene’s door.
“I wan be like that man,” Edet had pointed to a man dressed in suit in the town.
Maria had smiled at him, patted his head and said, “You will be more than him if you are really determined. You can be whoever you want to be, Edet.”
“I wan learn book. I wan speak oyinbo Engrish.”
Maria laughed and said, “You will. Now let’s go home. We have a lot of work to do.”
Maria realised that, although Matron Nene had tried to teach the kids a few things about education, only very little reflected in the children. They all spoke Pidgin English in the home; even the matron spoke Pidgin with them. And so that was the first thing Maria was determined to change about the kids. They must speak proper English. Even if they didn’t know how to, they must try – and he was ready to teach them that one, at least.
It was pretty hard trying to change a language that was already the kids’ tongue but Maria would not relent. He would reward the ones that spoke good English, and the reward would encourage the others to polish their words. Before Maria’s arrival, the kids only wrote on wooden boards with charcoals they got from burnt firewood. None of them had the luxury of owning an exercise book, let alone textbook. And all Matron Nene could really teach them was the English alphabet, stringing words together, and basic mathematics. But Maria taught them a whole lot more. She taught them reading, grammar, essay writing, letter writing – then she taught them fractions, decimals, equations, and other stuff she knew about English and Mathematics. She also taught them some other subjects she considered quite important.
However, at a point, she was scared that she would have nothing more to teach them. The textbooks helped immensely but she was reaching some topics that were even beyond her own comprehension. Besides, some of the kids were already studying the textbooks on their own. Edet turned out to be a really fast learner. He was the first orphan in the home able to speak proper English, although his local accent still reflected in his speech, and they still made Maria laugh – but he was a very brilliant child. Maria decided to make him her assistant. While she taught some students, Edet would teach other students. In a few months, things were beginning to change in the orphanage; many of the kids could now read and write perfectly. The villagers were aware of the change in them whenever some of them went to sell goods in the market. The kids were no longer speaking Pidgin English like the other children in the village. Other kids who were not orphans began telling their parents that they wanted to be able to speak proper English like the children from the orphanage. At first, the parents dismissed their children pleas as nonsense. They never believed in education. They believed there was no point educating children in this village when they would eventually end up to become farmers and fishermen like their parents. Besides, even if they wanted their children to learn, there was no single school in the entire village – so there was no point promising their kids what they might never receive. Many of the parents agreed that the kids in the orphanage were only wasting their time on something they considered irrelevant.
But something happened that changed the impression of the parents about education. Before the end of that year, there was an annual festival always held in the village. It was the only day in the whole year that some outsiders would come into the village. The festival was always highly anticipated by the villagers and it was always organized by the village king, who was also an illiterate. On this day, the villagers would wear their best clothes and gather at the king’s palace for the usual merriment. There were always songs and dances, eating and drinking, and meeting new folks. Food was always eaten in excess. Fishermen, hunters and farmers always contributed and donated in big to the event. It was the only event they were all proud of. Even the very old always insisted on being taken to witness the event.
However, Matron Nene never allowed any of the children at the orphanage to attend the ceremony. She believed such festival was unfit for those kids; besides, they were never supposed to leave the orphanage. She didn’t want to risk any government official finding them at the ceremony and accusing her of not doing her job well as the matron. The kids always wanted to attend this festival but they could not go against the orders of the matron. The only thing they did was listen to the sounds of singing, shouting and cheering that echoed to the orphanage.
This year, however, even Maria was interested in attending the festival. She needed something fun in her life after all the terrible things she had experienced in the past. And as soon as the kids realised that Maria was planning to attend, they begged her to help them convince Matron Nene to allow them go with her. Maria could see the desperation in their eyes. She understood why the matron forbade them from going, but she also understood that it would mean a lot for the kids to attend the festival. Besides, witnessing the activities could be a form of education. She remembered how kids from other school always talked about the various excursions they attended in school, and Maria had always wondered how it felt to go on excursions. Matron Nene never allowed them to go anywhere; she never let them leave the orphanage. The only time they left was when they went for an external examination. Even then, Maria remembered that one of them had run away – the girl never followed them back to the orphanage. She was sure something like that was not going to happen here. This was a small village; there was nowhere any of the children could run to. It was even something inconceivable; none of the kids would dream of leaving the orphanage. They never wanted to leave Matron Nene, for she was the only mother they ever knew – and the old woman had always worked hard to take good care of them.
“I’d like to attend the Ikpom Festival,” Maria had told Matron Nene two days before the date of the festival.
The matron had frowned. “Why would you want to attend something like that?”
Maria shrugged. “I think it would be fun. I think it’s something I need. I want to sing and dance,” she laughed.
“You can sing and dance here,” Nene had responded flatly.
Maria scoffed. “How? There has never been any music here. Your old transistor radio hardly picks any station. Even if it does, all we hear is news, news and news. They can’t seem to stop talking about the fate of Ken Saro Wiwa.”
“You should feel a little sympathy. The poor man will be hanged in November.”
“I do,” replied Maria, “I really do, but there are a lot more freedom fighters awaiting death like him. Why are they not talking about all those ones? Why is KSW different from the rest of those people? They are all humans too. Should they not have a voice too? Anyway, all I’m saying is that a person deserves a little fun in their life. I just want to go there to have some fun. It’s just a day. I will be back before dark.”
“I don’t understand what people enjoy in all that noise, but if that is what you want, then you can go. I appreciate that you have chosen to take permission from me, but you are an adult, Maria, you can do whatever you want as long as it’s the right thing to do.”
“You’re my mother. From who else would I seek permission if not you?”
Matron Nene smiled. “Thank you, my daughter.”
“I would never trade you for anyone else. I love you so much, mama.”
“I love you too, my daughter. You know I love you so much and I would never refuse you anything.”
“Aha! There’s another request.”
Matron Nene’s expression became serious. “I hope there’s nothing wrong.”
“I’d like to take the kids with me,” Maria said cheerfully.
“Absolutely not. You know that’s not going to happen, Maria.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not right. My job is to keep them here in the orphanage, not to go and attend some festival. I’m not going to put them in danger by allowing them mix with people I don’t know about. Besides, they could easily get lost or kidnapped there. No, the risk is too enormous. I’m sorry, I’m not going to grant this particular request.”
“Nothing bad is going to happen to them, I promise.”
Nene shook her head. “I can’t risk it. The kids mean a lot to me.”
“Don’t you believe in me?” said Maria, “I’m assuring you that nothing bad is going to happen to any of them. They really want to attend this festival. Let’s do this for them, mama. In the very least, these kids deserve a little fun in their lives. They have worked hard to earn it. Have you forgotten all the rigorous classes and assignments they have been doing. They have improved considerably within a few months. I know you are also proud of them. You should show them that you appreciate them by giving them this chance. Once again, I am promising you that I will bring them all back safely.”
Matron Nene stared at Maria silently for a while. Although she did not like the idea of the kids attending the festival, she agreed that Maria had a point. The least she could do was allow them to attend. Her fear was something terrible happening. Besides, it wasn’t like they were always stuck in the orphanage. Some of them always sold things in the market. If they didn’t run away or get kidnapped then, they probably would be safe at the festival too. And Maria had promised to watch over them. Well, she wanted the kids to be happy.
“Okay, you can take them; but you must be very careful.”
“Thank you so much, mama,” Maria was excited.
When she shared the news to the kids, all the children went to Matron Nene and hugged her in gratitude. 6 Likes |