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I cried throughout the movie. It is for adults. There are flashbacks throughout the film of war violence. Although it is difficult to see, it is a reminder that any fight for what is right comes at a great price. We must never take freedom for granted.
The story begins with 84-year-old Mr. Maruge hearing on the radio that Kenya now offers free education for all. He showed up at elementary school insisting on being listed as a first grader. Parents and the school administrator do not want an adult in the classroom. The teacher tries to adjust by making him her helper so that she can stay in the room and learn while mentoring him after school.
Both Mr. Maruge and the teacher are threatened by people with harm. The school administrator transfers the teacher and tries to introduce a new one, but the children riot and close the door. They chase away the new teacher.
Mr. Maruge travels to the city and interrupts a meeting with officials. He takes off his shirt and recounts the torture he received in the war camps defending his country. His wife and son had been murdered. He implores them to bring Master Jane back.
Teacher Jane returns to the delight of the school children. Mr. Maruge asks you to read a letter he received as he still cannot read well enough. She is overwhelmed when she sees it and asks the other teacher to read it to her. The letter is from the Office of the President, notifying him that he is being compensated for his years as a prisoner of war. Provide your inmate number, field names, and dates. Acknowledge the countless treatment he suffered.
In the United States, we receive free education. Our children do not understand that there are countries where other children do not have what they have. Even if not everything is ideal in all schools, we have more than a few.
Some children in other countries learn under a tree on land without a building. Their teachers do the best they can with what they are given. If they can learn to read, they can take that knowledge home with them and share it with their elders.
As I will soon be a grandmother to a Sudanese boy, I hope to find a way to leave something behind that his mother and other parents can tell the next generation.
