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After a few months, Baba’s company stops giving them his salary as he has not been found. Life becomes hard and though neighbours try to be helpful – the family starts experiencing poverty (introduction of goal about poverty and extreme hunger). The girls are very hungry and Mama is not getting better. When school opens for them to go to grade one, which they have been looking forward to, they do not have money for fees although they have uniforms and books bought when life was good and Baba was at home. They manage to go to school for a few days but are sent home for non-payment of fees (introduction of goal about primary education). They come home crying and feel ashamed to face their friends and people who have seen them going to school in their neighbourhood. When they get home, mama has a little more strength than usual and starts telling them a story about the importance of development and how the world economy works (introduction of goal about global partnership for development). She explains that if they lived in a welfare state, they wouldn’t have to worry because they could still go to school and survive without working. But not in Africa – she says because of the many debts the continent owes. She explains that this is just like the debts their family owes and can’t pay because of the crisis they are in.
The girls understand and wish they could do something to help Africa and their mama. They get quite sad because they can’t think of anything – their wire cars and dolls wouldn’t provide enough money. Mama is touched and tries to divert their attention and cheer them up. She starts to tell them a story they are fond of – about their Great Aunt uNaAnna. They love stories about her because she knew how to heal people and because she was very wise and helped people solve problems. She now lives in a country on another continent (introduction of developed world) ruled by a rich King who is friends with many other rich kings from many different continents except Africa. Mama wishes she could contact her but doesn’t have her phone number or email address – only the suburb where she lives but no city, although she knows the country. Mama herself gets sad and starts becoming weak again and falls back into her bed. Aunt Maggie comes in and shoos the girls out saying they shouldn’t do that to their mother.
The girls go to the bedroom – they don’t feel like playing and just keep bouncing a tennis ball wondering what they can do. They feel so sad! Later that night they go to sleep and Patty awakes close to midnight to see the room flooded by light. She wonders where the light is coming from and decides it must be coming through the window. She tip toes there and moves the curtain so she doesn’t wake Ruby. Looking up, she sees a full moon and smiles. To her surprise, it smiles back and the stars around it seem to form arms which beckon her to come. She shakes her head but the moon and stars carry on. She closes the curtain and runs back to her bed in fear and waking up Ruby in the process. Ruby asks her what the matter is and she tells her about the strange phenomenon. Ruby, who is not as timid as Patty, and far more gung-ho rushes to the window at once and sees the same thing. “WOW” – she says and tells Patty they must go at once. Patty is not sure but after a while, Ruby persuades her that maybe this could be the way to save their mama and Africa. “Oh all right then” says Patty and they take out the books from their new school satchels and pack a few clothes, sleeping bags, colouring books and pencils. They tip toe to the kitchen and get water – there is not much food and they decide mama needs it more. Aunt Maggie is sleeping in mama’s bedroom to take care of her and Fortune at night but evidently she is not – she is snoring like a pig! They leave them a note and tell them not to worry – they will be back in a few weeks with uNaAnna. She will make everything fine.
When they go out, they follow in the direction of the moon and stars and find themselves in an open field. “Now what?” they think and just then the wind begins to blow through the tall grass in the field. It’s singing a song (African sad melody) of goodbye to their mama and Aunt Maggie. As the Savanna grass bends under the effect of the wind, the motions are of hands saying goodbye. At the end of the song, the grass whispers directions to where they need to go next.
The rest of the story is about their travels through different countries and the way nature guides them to uNaAnna so she can talk to her King to save it from destruction through pollution and environmental degradation caused by a wicked leader from under the earth called uBubi.
In the course of their journey, the children discover that uBubi has kidnapped their father who was transporting gold on his last train trip and has tied him up in his tightly guarded palace. He has stolen the gold and the girl’s father is suspected of having run off with the gold by his employers. For this reason, they have punished him by not paying his family a salary. They figure out that their mother wanted to protect them and didn’t tell them.
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sabina mutangadura
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greetings Guide Makombo | Dec 31st, 2009
I greet u in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have run through you article; What I can do to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This is quite good keep it up my dear.
Grace & Peace,
Guide
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