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Holiday with my Grandmother, by Bako Suraya Munir ECD and Primary School

My name is Bako Suraya; I go to Munir ECD primary school and live with my parents. Last year when we broke up for the third term holidays, my father took me to Kibaga. He wanted me to spend my holiday with my grandmother; he also wanted me to learn the chores done by the people in the village. It was my first time to go to the village. I was excited because I had always heard of sweet stories about village life this included; getting free water, free fruits and free and fresh food etc.

When I reached the village, I proved that some stories were not correct for example getting water was tag of war. We had to walk along distance to fetch it then carry it on our small heads to our home for one to enjoy the fresh food, one had to dig. It was during the holiday that I first held a hoe and I will never forget in my life. In my grandmother’s banana plantation, I stepped on a nail hurting me for weeks making me regret why I had gone to the village. Preparing food with firewood was also a challenge for me; the smoke from the fire wood could make me cry like someone who was beaten.

One day my grandmother received visitors, these visitors were my cousins from the neighbouring village; my grandmother asked me to peel some matooke and put it in the saucepan to cook. When the food was ready, my grandmother came and served the guests. She was surprised to found a cluster of unpeeled matooke cooked, that was when she discovered that I didn’t know domestic work. She began to teach me with a lot of patience, by the end of my holidays; I had learnt how to dig, cook and wash utensils. I thank my grandmother for being a good teacher; it is good for us to stay with our grandmothers.

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