Helping others

Listening practice

(a) Participate in a sentence whispering game and compare the original sentence with the sentence you whispered or that which your classmate whispered to you. (b) Listen to other audio and/or audio-visual materials to improve your listening skills.

Speaking practice

(a) In pairs, read and act out the following dialogue and answer the questions that follow.

Dialogue

Christopher: Hi Zai! Zainab: Hi Chris! How are you? Christopher: I’m fine, and you? Zainab: I’m fi ne, too. Thank you. Will you please help me to solve this puzzle? Christopher: Do you want us to work on it right now? Zainab: Yes, so that I can submit the work on time. Christopher: I’m sorry. I can’t help you now because I’m taking vegetables home. But I’ll be back soon. Zainab: For how long should I wait? Christopher: I think it will take me only a few minutes. Zainab: All right. I will wait for you. (Fifteen minutes later, Christopher comes back). Christopher: Let me see the puzzle. (Zainab gives a sheet of paper to Christopher.) Zainab: Here you are. Christopher: We’ll do it carefully in order that you get a good score. Zainab: That is my hope. (Christopher hands over the sheet of paper to Zainab). Christopher: I hope you have understood how we arrived at the answers to the puzzle. Zainab: Yes. Thank you very much.

Questions

1. Who is seeking help?
2. Where does Christopher want to go before helping Zainab?

Activity 3: Reading practice

Read the story below and answer the questions that follow.

Jane’s tortures and her destiny

Jane lost her parents in a road accident when she was only six years old. After the death of her parents, her uncles took away all the possessions. One of the uncles took Jane to live with him and his family. After Jane had lived with her uncle’s family for two years, her life became diffi cult and unbearable. Her uncle’s wife did not like her. She was very cruel. She beat her often without any good reason. She forced her to eat leftovers and sleep in the kitchen.

One day, as Jane was doing her homework, she did not see her aunt coming back from work. “You stupid-ugly girl, why don’t you come to help me with the groceries?” her aunt shouted. Jane jumped to her feet to help her aunt. But before she touched the luggage, her aunt slapped her so hard that she fell onto the ground. “Get up! You deserve more beating! You’re so lazy,” her aunt rebuked. Jane stood up trembling. Drops of tears fell down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, aunt; I didn’t see you,” Jane said. Her aunt did not respond; she just went into her room.

Jane’s aunt never beat her when her uncle was at home. She did not want her husband to notice her cruelty towards his niece. After several beatings, she thought what to do but remained indecisive. Later, Jane tried to report the matter to her uncle in order to stop her aunt from torturing her. Unfortunately, she did not succeed. Her uncle returned home drunk most of the times. He always sat in the same seat and looked helpless. Jane missed her parents a lot because she used to talk to them about anything that bothered her.

Another day, Jane’s aunt came home carrying a basket full of foodstuffs. That day, Jane saw her and ran to help her carry the basket. When Jane approached her, her aunt put the basket down and pushed her aside. She went into the house, took a club and waved it at Jane. “Leave my home. Otherwise, I’ll kill you! I don’t want to see you here anymore,” the aunt threatened. For a minute, Jane hesitated, but she realised that she had no choice but to leave for an unknown place. Jane did not take anything with her because she was not allowed to go back into the house. She went to join other children living on the street. The street children were also cruel. They did not want her to share their sleeping space. She moved to an unfinished house nearby in order to live there.

One day, Fatuma and her father were driving home from the supermarket. On the way, she saw a girl scavenging through rubbish bins in order that she might get leftovers to eat. Fatuma pitied her. She asked her father to stop and talk to the girl. “Hey, could you come here, please?” Jane slowly walked towards the car. “What’s your name?”

Fatuma asked while sticking her head out of the window. “My name is Jane,” she replied. Fatuma asked, “What were you doing there?” Jane answered, “Looking for something to eat.” Fatuma went on, “Don’t you have parents?” That question made Jane shed tears. Fatuma pleaded with her to stop crying. Fatuma asked her father, “Is it all right daddy if we take Jane home to live with us?” Her father smiled and replied, “It is all right, my lovely daughter.” Fatuma was happy and asked Jane, “Would you like to come and live with us so that we may go to school together?” Jane nodded. Fatuma’s father opened the door for Jane. She entered and sat on the back seat. They continued to listen to Jane’s life story. Both Fatuma and her father pitied Jane.

At Fatuma’s home, Jane found a caring mother who reminded her of her late mother. After a week, they took her to the same school as Fatuma and the two became great friends. They studied very hard. Both Fatuma and Jane passed their primary and secondary school examinations. They joined the same university but chose different degree programmes. Jane studied law while Fatuma studied engineering. After that, Jane became a lawyer and Fatuma became an engineer. Jane now provides legal aid to people who cannot afford to pay for legal representation.

Later, she married and got three children. One evening, while watching television, Jane told this story to her children. She said, “My children, it is very important to help other people in life. I do not know how my life would have been if Fatuma and her family had not come to my rescue. Surely, Fatuma and her family were a ladder to my life. I will forever be grateful to them. Please be kind to others.”

Questions

1. At what age did Jane lose her parents?
2. What was the cause of their death?
3. Why did Jane become a street child?
4. Who rescued Jane from the street?
5. What happened to Fatuma and Jane as a result of studying very hard?
6. What did Jane mean when she said, “Fatuma and her family were a ladder to my life”?
7. If you were Jane, what would you do for Fatuma?
8. Have you ever helped anyone in need? Explain.