Grade 8, Habitat61 Creative Hub
Zodwa was born in Protea Glen on the 15th May 1995, but when her mother died in 2001, she stayed with her father. In 2005, her father married a new wife, who was named Mbali. Zodwa was mistreated by her stepmother, and she continued complaining to her father but he didn’t seem to care about his daughters feelings. He would occasionally say, “Get use to it, because your mom has a different way of dealing with things.” Mbali continued bullying and abusing Zodwa. Mbali brought her daughter from her previous marriage, Zanothando, whose dad had passed away two years ago in a car accident. Mbali and her daughter Zanothando would chill and go for shopping together, and Zodwa felt left out and definitely didn’t like the treatment she was getting.
One day Zodwa was late for school; she asked her stepmother to take her to school. “No ways, I wouldn’t do that because I too didn’t go to school.” “Why didn’t you go to school, mother?” Zodwa asked curiously. “Women didn’t attend school in my days, because our society didn’t believe in educating and empowering women,” Mbali explained painfully. Zodwa didn’t go to school that day. Later on, she asked her father to help her catch up on school work that she missed that day. Zodwa’s father also explained that he can’t read or write because when he was young, black men were sent to big cities to work in mines and factories. Zanothando advised Zodwa to go to Uncle Thulane; Uncle Thulane was the only educated person in the village as he was a retired English teacher.
The next day Zodwa and Zanothando went to Uncle Thulane and asked him to help with homework and also assist their parents with reading and writing. He agreed excitedly. Uncle Thulane helped them both with their homework, and they both did very well in their exams. Uncle Thulane began teaching Zodwa’s father and stepmother how to read and write, with help from Zanothando and Zodwa. The parents enjoyed these lessons as it allowed them to better understand the world. Mbali and Zodwa’s father invited their neighbours and friends to join in their study lessons until the entire street could read and write.
At home, Mbali changed her behaviour towards Zodwa; she started giving her love and treating her like her own daughter. Mbali initiated story times at night to bond with both her girls. One night she called a family meeting and apologised to Zodwa. “I lacked knowledge and understanding, would you please forgive me Zodwa?” Zodwa didn’t hesitate to forgive her stepmother.
They all live happily helping people with reading and writing in their community.