WHEN I WAS A

CHILD….. STORIES FROM 4B

Shakila Hossaini

When I was a child, my mother washed the clothes by hand with soap. In

the winter my mother used wood to heat the house. My father worked at a

bakery in Kabul and he made bread. He used a big oven in the ground.

When I was young, I used to read and play with my friends. We played

skipping and helped my mum work around the house. I also got water from

the well. I have two brothers and two sisters. I am the oldest sibling in my

family. In 1996 I got married and one year later, I had my first child –

Mahdi.

Wei Hua Jia

I was born into a Chinese army family. I had a very happy childhood and my

mum and dad loved me. I went to kindergarten every week. There was a

big playground. We learned Chinese and made toys. My parents and I

travelled to Beijing, Tian Jing and Shan Dong.

Later my family lived in China in Guang Dong. In my childhood I went to

army school to study culture and maths. Later I went to work in China’s

army hospital.

Mohan Santhalingam

When I was a child, I rode bikes with my brother. We rode around the village.

My father had a coffee shop and we helped him. When I was ten years old we

played cricket and tennis. I had three friends and we played cards in the

evening. When I was eleven years old, I went to Colombo for a cricket

tournament. When we went to the beach we made sand castles. After my

brother broke the castles I felt sad but he was happy. I studied

at the Jaffna Hindu College. It is a very famous school.

Nigar Sultan

When I was a child my mum was very sick. I had three brothers and seven

sisters. My older sister would help me with the house jobs and at the time

there were no cars so we had to walk. My grandma would wash the clothes

with soap and water and hit them with a wooden stick. My older sister got

married and went to Afghanistan. She had six kids and died at 32 because of

diabetes. I also got married at the age of 15. I had one child named Mansoor.

When he was in Year 10 my husband died of a heart attack. My sister who had

died had a daughter and she and my son got married and moved to New

Zealand. My granddaughter Arsh was born when I came to New

Zealand.

Kavitha Chandran

When I was a child my mother washed the clothes by hand and she cleaned

the home. My home had a little TV. I used to play games outside. I liked sewing

at home. I went to school until Year 10. I have three brothers. My brothers and

father are rice farmers. My mother made bread at home and took it to

a big cooking oven in the ground. My home had no car. I went to

school by bus. I liked listening to the radio.

Roya Hussaini

When I was a child my mother washed the clothes by hand. When she

cleaned the house she cleaned with a brush. When I was little the

TV started at 6pm. I played doll house and hopscotch. When I was

a child my mother sewed our clothes at home. My mother made bread at

home and I took it to bake in a big oven in the ground.

Jianmin Fang

When I was a child I went to school every day. Sometimes I played outside. I

liked to look at the scenery outside. With childhood I went to the river and swam. I

liked swimming but now I have forgotten how. When I was 12 we had a TV for the

first time. I liked to study TV university classes on how to make

radios. Sometimes I asked another teacher questions. I like

electronics. I became an electrician when I grew up.

Ken Chen

When I was a child I played outside. I also played cars, marbles

and Chinese chess. When I was a child I did the shopping for my

mother. Sometimes I cooked the rice. We didn’t have a shower

when I was a child. We washed from a tub. We also had to use a

public toilet.