They will be leaving teenage hood when the junior high school year arrives the following year. The school subjects they will choose - these school kids are crazy about it.
The walk, the talk, the girlfriends and the maturity of the adolescence life conducts they will be going through in the following year. They imagine themselves wearing those new school uniforms and the types of games they will play. Junior schools have more games than primary schools.
Tito has prepared his mind for his junior high school in Botswana. As kids who are about to leave primary school, they sit during lunch break fantasizing about the following year.
They ask themselves which school they wish to begin their high school. It is entirely upon the Botswana government to decide for all the children enrolled in the government primary and junior schools.
In the mid-year of 1992 in the final year of his primary school level, good news came to Tito's ear from mommy. The good news is that he will be going to begin his high school in Zimbabwe the following year.
He will not begin his junior high school in Botswana.
Studying in Zimbabwe is most popular in Tito's home country Botswana. It is like an opportunity window for most Botswana citizens. The currency exchange rate is BWP1.00 (Botswana currency) converted to Zimbabwean Dollar: Z$3.00. School fees are in the ranges of Z$1,200.00 per term which is equivalent to BWP400.00. This is way cheaper compared to Botswana Private schools which is above BWP2,000.00 per school term.
Taking ones child to Zimbabwe and paying for all tuition expenses as it is the norm, is similar to the same child who attends a private school in Botswana. Private schools in Botswana are more expensive compared to medium class schools in Zimbabwe.
Most if not all parents regard Zimbabwe as having the best education as compared to Botswana government owned schools.
'Studying in Zimbabwe, I will feel superior,' fascinates the young boy Tito as he imagines studying in a foreign country.
He is at times carried away by this imagination which sometimes his cousins take it as bragging.
Despite having prepared his mind to beginning his junior school in Botswana, he is on the other hand, overjoyed to have been offered the opportunity to go and study in Zimbabwe. He wishes karate sport can be one of the games offered in the school he will go to in Zimbabwe.
'Drawing art should be one of my subjects when I study there.'
All these imaginations are in line with what Tito has already discussed with his friends while they fascinated a lot about starting junior school in Botswana.
His mother's aunt, Judy, is very instrumental about finding Tito and her son school spaces in Zimbabwe. Judy's son is four years older than Tito and has failed more than two times his junior school studies in Botswana. Failing his junior school examinations prevented Judy's son from continuing to senior school which could have enabled him to enter tertiary education. This is the reason Judy is very energetic in finding her son school space in Zimbabwe to start from form one school level with Tito.
Judy is a primary school head by occupation.
She believes that Zimbabwe's education system will improve his child's IQ if her child studies in Zimbabwe. The country gives the best education in the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) region; Well this is Judy's total conviction of her son's future.
She has a particular school in mind since some of their relatives are already studying there. She sources all the money for fuel and food and departs with Tito's 'daddy' to find school spaces in Zimbabwe.
After three days they arrive back with good and bad news.
Tito is offered the chance to study at Embakwe Secondary school in the town of Plumtree, 10 kilometres from the border of Botswana into the Matebeleland south of Zimbabwe. The school they targeted right from the start. This is a Roman Catholic mission school, a boys' only school. This school offers the best teaching discipline.
Unfortunately Judy's son, is not offered the chance to study in any of the schools they approached due to his poor school report they used. It is a blessing for Tito, for the mid-term school report they used – Tito has very good percentage scores.
Tito is very twitchy day and night imagining how it will be like traveling all the way to Zimbabwe. He imagines new social interactions – learning new languages – new breezes – and new everything.
The family visits Tito's grandmother during the Christmas festive season at mommy's village to spend the Christmas holidays of the year 1992.
Tito swiftly rushes to his father's workplace to find him once more. He wants to inform him that he will be leaving for studies in Zimbabwe the following year.
'I wish this time I can find my father around, please lord help me find him.' He wishes as he rushes all the way to his father's workplace.
He has failed to see his father with his own eyes the last time he attempted. 'Good afternoon sir.' Good afternoon boy.'
Tito exchanges words with an old man wearing blue and red security guard overalls at a big steel gate of the hardware store where his father works.
'Is the hardware closed for lunch, I came to see a man by the name Solman?' asks Tito as he wonders what time it is on a hot sunny day.
'No boy, the hardware is closed for Christmas holidays, the man responds'.
'Oh gosh, Christmas holidays, you mean until the new year?' disappointed Tito looks down as he asks this question.
'That's exactly what I mean boy.'
Disappointed again, Tito goes back home to join the family. After the holidays, the family goes back to the city. Tito does not have the chance to meet his father.
The year finally arrives. January 1993, mommy and 'daddy' take Tito to Zimbabwe to start his Form one class.
The school is 30km to the South-east rural outside edge of the town Plumtree. This is the first town of Zimbabwe from the borderpost of Botswana and Zimbabwe.
'Traveling documents, in this case, passports, are left at the school-head's office. This is the school policy.
No student is supposed to go outside school premises without a written permission from the school-head.
No student is supposed to travel home or to the town of Plumtree without a written permission from the school-head.
A valid reason has to be given by the student which shall be upon the school-head's decision to accept or refuse such reason.
The only mode of transport to Plumtree is the school truck and only travels on Tuesdays and Fridays to and fro the same day.
These are the rules for all students to obey,' Vibrantly says the school head outlining to Tito, mommy and 'daddy'.
Address me as Brother Donacan, I am the school-head of the entire school.
Any questions, he adds as he pulls down his spectacles and slowly holds them around his lips.
'Do you understand the rules, Tito?' asks mommy as she turns to Tito to see the reaction on his face.
'Yes mom, I understand them clearly,' he replies without wasting any time.
'Thank you, welcome to Embakwe Secondary School, boy;' concludes the tall old looking school head, Brother Donacan, giving Tito a firm hand shake.
'Excuse me! Take them to the junior school dormitories,'
He says with a loud deep voice as he whistles to a tall muscular boy with a name tag on his T-shirt written 'School Prefect'.
The school is a boarding school, combining junior and secondary schools. A boys only school.
After a short conversation, the family bids Tito goodbye. Daddy pats him on the head as he says, 'from now on, you will learn better ways of living, you are now becoming a man, you are on the road to adulthood.' See you boy.'
Watching the rear lights of the 1980's pickup van model, Tito takes it deep down his heart that he should not be 'homesick'. This will be for the following four years of his studies.
Is it because his cousins are already studying here, or is it the excitement of the new environment?
No! It is because of the character he has developed of not missing anyone in life.
He does not have the ability to form relationships and offer friendship to others.
This developed overtime as he grew up. Tito does not feel the love and appreciation in his family; in turn, he does not have the ability to appreciate his own worth as a person. This can be reflected in the sporting activities he tried to pursue at primary school. During this period of his secondary school, Tito discovers much about himself. He becomes interested in new things and different people at his new school. People from different cultures – from Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, South America, Zambia and those from different parts of his own country, Botswana. Some of the boys are also raised by stepfathers. This is what Tito picks up as conversations take place while boys gather in groups at school dormitories after school hours.
'I am not the only child raised up by a stepdad, but I still want to connect with my father,' Tito says this to himself regardless of these consoling conversations.
The first year passes.
Unfortunately drawing art is not offered at the school. Karate sport is there, Tito joins it.
He flip-flops, somersaults, backflips and stretches his legs to the 180 degree wideness.
Tito shouts louder than all the boys in the training hall –kia-kia-kia-kia!
'He truly enjoys the sport to the max.' That's Tito shouting, he's going to be the next Shaolin and Bruce Lee, he is the next kungfu battalion master.'
Other students passing by the karate hall say this to one another. They can hear his voice louder than everyone else in the hall.
He suspends his leg in the air for 15 minutes. He becomes one of the respected martial arts performers. They call him rubber-man. He takes an afro-comb and grabs it with his toes. To the surprise of all, Tito combs his hair using his foot.
But the karate sport is canceled within six months of its start-up when the teacher who conducts it transfers to a different school.
Only soccer, basketball, table tennis and lawn tennis are the sport activities Tito tries and fails to be good at. He does not enjoy any of these remaining sports activities; he has no interest in becoming a spectator either.
Tito's sporting dreams are shattered. He chooses to focus only on school work.