Ode to my Father

This is to celebrate the man of my life- my father. Just recently I started naming my blogs and social media uMwizerwa wa Ngoboka, Mwizerwa being my name that means trustworthy and Ngoboka my father’s name that loosely translates into “help me”

A friend of mine once asked me why I don’t write about my father or talk a lot about him- I was at a loss of words. I couldn’t explain to him the relationship I have with my father, no words can.

If I believed in role models, he would be mine- but I don’t- so he is just someone I admire and would love to grow up to be as successful as he is.

One of my childhood memories with my father was when he would pick me up and I almost touched the ceiling. I would freak out every time he did it, my fear of heights is from way back, but I loved it nevertheless.

My father is the reason why I love reading and writing. When I was a tender child of less than five years old, he brought home books for us to read. I didn’t know how to read and I would just watch images from said books.

In primary, my dad used to teach me some English. One day, in grade 2 we learned the verb “to be” and the teacher said one of the things wrong,so I corrected her because my dad had taught me how to conjugate it. I felt like a genius and was grateful for my dad teaching me.

My passion for education also comes from my dad. As a university professor, he is at the forefront of education. He is also willing to sacrifice a lot for it because he knows that it’s the biggest treasure. As a result, he gave us the best education even when it meant giving up most comfortable and luxurious things.

Contrary to other African parents, he never tells me that he was always the first of his class- he was most of the time. His friends and acquaintances are the ones who praise his intelligence. As a kid people always told me I would grow to be as intelligent as he is, and I hope I kept well his legacy.

I will end this saying something I don’t get the chance or courage to say as often as I want to.

Father, I love you very much.