Meeting the Twins' Family

Today was my last day at school, but it was also the first time I met the parents of my twins, Paulo and Paskali, that I write about so frequently. The father came to school to thank me for the backpacks for the twins. He invited me to their house so I went after school with the twins and my teacher.

It has bothered me for some time how hard my teacher is on the twins, I feel like he picks on them. It was an eye-opener for both of us to see where they live. Their father rents a small room in a traditional mud-brick house with tin roof (no windows). The whole family lives and sleeps in one room. The parents share a double bed and the twins sleep on foam cushions on the floor. Their school clothes I always noticed were torn, buttons missing, dirty, and their personal clothes are even more worn. They wear pants that hardly fit and shirts that have tears and holes to where you wouldn’t hardly recognize them as articles of clothing.

The parents were kind and generous, offering me traditional Tanzanian chai and bread. It is clear that these are the poorest students at my school yet the parents find a way to pay the 5,000 shillings per student per month (a little less than 5 USD) for them to go to school. It makes me feel like the extra attention I spent trying to get them to write letters and focus was worthwhile. I think these twins just need extra attention and love, they have little resources and a very poor family. I am hopeful that they will continue with their education in the years to come.

Picture: The Mbaga family – the mother Fatuma, the father Joseph, and the twins Paulo (in red) and Paskali