MBEYA, 2020
Leo at a snail's pace pressed the door handle to enter the house. It was 5:30 AM. He walked in cautiously and flicked on the lights. His heart pounded faster.
“Went gambling again?” Benjamin said, sitting on the chair
“We’ll starve”
“Told you we will find another way”
“So, we just sit and starve…” Leo sat, “till you find another way”
Benjamin threw an envelope on the table, “good news for you!”
Leo chuckled, “Good news?”
“Two months ago, I applied you a scholarship.” Benjamin sat well, “the results are out and you have been granted full scholarship”
The smile on Leo's face disappeared, "what do you mean by the scholarship?"
“You have been chosen to attend Tanzania School of Talents”
“Didn’t ask for that”
“You have talents”
“I don’t need to be taught─”
“I won’t let you live as a gambler”
“I won’t go to school?”
“The fact that you have talent is not sufficient, hence the importance of developing talent through learning.”
“Never said I needed that”
Benjamin leaned on the chair, “Leo… fifteen years ago, I graduated with a GPA of 4.0 in the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. I wandered in the streets for two consecutive years looking for a job. I got nothing and ended up as a gambler in gambling houses”
For the first time since 2012, Benjamin talked to Leo about his past. He had never done that before. Leo was ten, wandering in the streets when Benjamin took him. Benjamin believed that everyone was responsible for his or her own life. He’s the one who taught Leo to smile in tough times. He never exposed his past to Leo.
Benjamin stood and walked close to Leo, “People don’t need your certificates… they need your impacts on their lives. The results of your impacts on their lives will be your certificates
"I don't want you to be a gambler. I want you to be an expert who uses his talents to change peoples' lives. That's what I'm sending you to school for and not for the papers with A’s and B’s. I made that mistake and here I am today”
Leo smiled, “I appreciate but won’t take your offer”
Benjamin’s face grew red “this is not a request, it’s a command”
“What?”
“You like it or not… you are going to school”
Leo smiled, “yeah! You gave me this life anyway. You are free to decide whatever I should do with it”