You can find Part 1 here.
A Leap Taken, Part 2
by Dee
The job was one that didn’t take much thought although it was close to impossible to hold a conversation as well. Grace’s mind began to wander and she thought again of the scheme she had thought up at the beginning of the school holiday.
Two months earlier…
“Baba, I want to raise chickens. My mwalimu told me about them in school and I would like to keep some. They lay mayai and give nyama.” Grace twitched nervously, watching her father’s expression.
“Chickens are useless birds. The only good wanyama are cows and goats.” Her father turned to leave and Grace felt her disappointment rise. Then her mother beckoned her over.
“I will give you the 500 shillings I have saved to start this thing you want to do. But you must work hard and not give up, even when others make fun of you.” Grace’s mother spoke in a whisper, glancing furtively around. “I have wanted to raise chickens as well, but I have no time.”
“Thank you, Mama.” Grace’s eyes shone and she flung her arms around her mother.
Grace began to work on her project whenever she had spare time. She went to the trash dump and found several meters of chicken wire, as well as bits and pieces of wood. Gradually, during her lunch breaks, after supper, and before the rest of the family woke up, she managed to build a chicken run similar to the ones she had seen in the books at school.
However, the endeavor was a hard one, one her siblings and friends teased her about.
“Why don’t you want to keep normal wanyama?”
“Grace never wants to play anymore.”
“Chickens are useless wanyama.”
“Why do you waste your time on something that will never work?”
“ Grace, you are always playing in the takataka!”
The words hurt, but Grace managed to stick to her idea. She steadily worked onward, not caring about others’ opinions.
Finally, after salvaging two shallow bowls from the trash dump and buying a small bag of chicken feed, Grace was ready for her chickens.
The run had a small coop and a yard for the chickens to run about in. It was surrounded by thorny branches to keep the leopards out and no small holes existed where a mongoose could slide in.
Two days later, Grace’s aunt was going to a larger city to visit a cousin, and Grace planned to go along. In the city, she could find chickens, probably cheaper than anywhere near their home.
Once they arrived in the city, Grace was able to procure four hens and a rooster. Along with her mother’s 500 shillings, Grace had saved another 300 shillings with which to buy her chickens. She kept careful watch on them all the way back home and when she arrived back at her parents’ farm, her mother was waiting eagerly for her arrival.
The family crowded around Grace and the large basket the chickens were in.
“Did you get any chickens?” Joy wanted to know.
“Oh, yes,” Grace replied, gesturing to the basket. “They’re in there.”
“How many did you get?” Faith asked, her arm around Hope, her twin.
“There’s four hens and one rooster.”
Jotham looked puzzled. “What are hens and roosters?”
Grace laughed. “Hens are girl chickens and roosters are boy chickens.”
“Oh,” chorused Jotham, Joy, and Samuel.
“Children, children, let Grace put the chickens in the boma. She can’t do anything with you standing so close.” Mama David made shooing motions with her hands. She beckoned to Grace. “Kuja, I want to see them.”
“Yes, Mama.” Grace carried the basket over to the coop. She put the basket inside and removed the lid. Immediately, the chickens flapped out, feathers floating everywhere.
That was only the beginning. Grace soon sold eggs to the neighbors, and with the money she received, she bought more chickens until she had nearly a dozen chickens in the coop. The family had eaten several roosters already, and her siblings no longer made fun of Grace. In fact, they were very grateful to her for the eggs and meat the birds provided.
Back to the present…
Thunk! The hoe slammed against a rock and Grace bent down to remove it. She smiled to herself. The endeavor would pay for Grace’s high school fees, clothes, and shoes. No one but Grace and her mother had ever thought the dream would come true. But Grace, through a leap taken, had made it a prospering reality.
Kiswahili Vocabulary
Mwalimu- a mwalimu is a teacher
Mayai- mayai are eggs
Nyama- nyama means meat
Wanyama- wanyama are any type of animals
Takataka- takataka means trash
Boma- a boma is a usually fenced compound
Kuja- kuja means come here; it is used in a singular form
