Childhood

I have been tutoring Benard, one of the first 14 year guys I met when I arrived at the Village. He is quiet, serious, stern looking until he smiles. He lives with his sister Lucy and brother (called Charles Darwin). I began tutoring him (and some of his friends) during my first week. We would gather at Ben's house, light the kerosene lamp and go over English, Social Studies and sometimes Science. Ben is so smart. He knows so much about so many things that my only real help has been with English. We are working to improve his English grammar, mechanics and composition. Because it was so difficult to meet in the dark, we moved the time earlier in the evening, most nights. This one particular night one of the English study books has us reading long stories and answering questions. The last two stories have been particularly difficult. Many have been stories or lessons about AIDS etc. but these last stories, stories. . . Oh man! The first we read with Benard and his sister present. It was about Kenyan girls being coaxed into the slave trade, female genital mutilation, rape etc. It was so difficult to read to them and with them. It is THEIR book, on THEIR level apparently. I asked them, "Do you know what I am reading about?" "Oh yes." they said. For the second story, Lucy left to cook dinner and I was left reading with Benard. I told Ben, "I am going to have a hard time reading this story with you." He looked at the first three sentences and looked at me and said, "I will be OK". The story was about coping with the death of a parent. It talked about trying to get over things in two weeks and trying to get back to normal. It said it was ok to cry with the remaining parent, ok to be afraid of the dark and said that it is good to assure friends that you are "ok". I cried as I read it with Benard and he teared up in a couple places. He lost both parents to AIDS, his father first and then his mother. Ben promises to tell me his whole story sometime but it is painful. He will soon go to his hometown, Kitui South in Mid November to take this big test and visit relatives. He says he is given money for the 2 hour bus trip but often the money is taken from him for the ride back to the village. He has chickens there he wants to see. Benard and I often go "monkey watching" together, although we seldom watch any monkeys. We talk. He is a great kid and is determined to do well on the November exam so as to get into a good secondary school. He will.