New Writing
Life is worth living ...
2010-02-05 09:12:00
Life is worth living ... even though it is not that easy. An autobiographical story written by Magdalena Lucas
A little girl was born on the 6th of November 1989 in a place called Askham, where the only clinic is near the farm Koopan Noord and there her parents lived. A farm owned by whites for which her father worked. Her mother was an ordinary housewife, who raised her children to the best that she was capable of.
The little girl was named Magdalena. As she grew up she was happy as any other girl of her age. She also believed in fantasy but as time passed, it seemed to her that the world was not such a nice place to live in. She was very fortunate to have ‘two mothers’ but it didn’t last long. She lost her godmother at the age of seven years. She loved her godmother as much as she has loved her real mom but it was not as if her godmother had taken the place of her real mother. No, it was just like she had two moms, who loved her very much.
From the start she did very well in school and as the years went by, she discovered that she liked reading a lot. Already in Grade 4 she went to the only library that was nearby and finished all the books like fantasy and horror books that she could find. Her love for books has grown since then and she now likes to read novels. She didn’t really like playing if she could sit with her nose in a book. She was a very humble and shy little girl but as time passed by she changed and became harder inside her heart.
She comes from a very poor background, as her parents didn’t earn much so they could not have had a comfortable life. When it comes to finances all Magdalena knew from the start was the struggle from one day to another. Beside the fact that they had to turn every single cent that they had, her father abused alcohol. When the most needed things were bought he got some alcohol and really, that she could not understand. “WHY”, she asked herself. With that money something extra could have been bought. However, despite the hardship she loved her father very much and she knew that he worked very hard so he deserved something that could satisfied him in some way.
The girl didn’t want him to destroy their happiness with alcohol because that is the effect that alcohol has if you don’t drink responsible. She couldn’t understand why some people do have a nice, rich life while others suffer from poverty, alcohol abuse and unhappiness. There’s a saying that goes:”When poverty comes in at the door, happiness jumps through the window”
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Magdalena finished Grade 7 at Askham; from there she went to the Rietfontein Secondary School. In her teenage years she was not really into boys or drinking and smoking, even though her friends were. She would rather concentrate on her schoolwork. She did really well in all the subjects except for mathematics, to which she didn’t give much attention in Gr.12. She passed matric in 2007.
She stayed her entire school years at boarding schools, her mother always made sure that the school fees were paid. But we children didn’t get pocket money. Her mother is a very proud and humble woman; she is one of those who would always put someone else’s need before her own. The lord has blessed them so much in so many ways that it’s impossible for Magdalena to forget how great the presents of the lord are. One Sunday morning while the kids were getting ready to go back to the boarding school, they didn’t have anything to take with them: no pocket money, no toiletries but they had to go anyway. Someone came, out of the blue with money, food and fruits for them. One couldn’t understand how does she know that this is what we exactly needed right now. It only can be the ways of how God works. This is one of a memory Magdalena will never forget.
After she finished school she stayed at home on the farm to assist her mom for six months. Then she had the opportunity to apply for a 12-month learnership in administration at the Department of Education. The application was successfully and she started working at the Intermediary School J.J. Adams in Askham on the 2nd of June 2008. There she answered phones, filed documents and whatever else was needed at a school such as being a supervisor in classes when the teachers were around. She also had to put her weight into school functions like athletics, spring balls, ect. She learned her computer skills at that school, but just the basics. Her contract ended on the 31st of May 2009. Again, she stayed at home for another two months and then she worked as a waitress at a nearby lodge for six weeks. She didn’t like the way her colleagues and the owners at the lodge behaved and she also didn’t like to be a waitress forever.
In the Kalahari where she stays are not many work opportunities so the young people are really bored. That is why you will find many young people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs.
She had the dream to be a psychologist one day so that she could have helped people with their problems. She could have listened to people who would really need someone to speak to in times of heartache and confusion. But nothing is for free and if you don’t have money there is no way that you can go forward in life.
Then she chose to participate in an extensive training for nine months at !Khwa ttu. She hopes to gain as much experience as possible because the training exposes the trainees to different kinds of fields. They also learn about the past and the present of all the San groups that live in southern Africa. She really hopes that she will be able to use the knowledge and experience that she gained from the training wherever she will be lucky to get a job.
Magdalena Lucas
28 January 2010
For more information about !Khwa ttu and the training course that Magdalena is attenting, visit www.khwattu.org
Comments
| Magdalena This is a great story - The Title is so moving and it also says alot in itself. Good writting. Tommy A Busakhwe 29 July 2010 4:14 |
| Submitted by Tommy Busakhwe on 29/07/2010 4:09:43 PM |
Magdalena Lucas
At !Khwa ttu
Magdalena