I Will Always Write Back

I Will Always Write Back

by

Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda, and Liz Welch

Martin, one of the book’s coauthors, is a boy from Zimbabwe who becomes Caitlin Stoicsitz’s pen pal and eventual best friend. They exchange letters from the late 1990s through the early 2000s. He lives in the low-income housing development Chisamba Singles with Martin’s father; Martin’s mother; and his siblings Nation, Simba, Lois, and George. Martin’s intelligence is one of his defining characteristics: he’s almost always the top of his class and scores highly on tests (with the exception of the SATs). Many people in Martin’s life, including his father and his teachers, believe that he is smart enough to go to university (which is rare in Zimbabwe compared to in the United States). He knows getting an education could help him escape poverty and live a life more similar to the lives of his cousin Sekai and her husband Alois, who are educated and comparatively wealthier. Caitlin encourages Martin to follow his dream. As the two get to know each other better through their letters, they feel more comfortable sharing the truth about their lives, and Martin reveals the extent of his family’s poverty. As a result, Caitlin begins sending him money, first in secret but eventually with the help of her Caitlin’s mom and Caitlin’s dad, who come to see Martin as something like an adopted son. Ultimately, Martin decides he wants to study at a U.S. university and meet Caitlin in person. Despite facing enormous obstacles, particularly when it comes to paying tuition costs, Martin is ultimately able to achieve his dream and get a full scholarship to Villanova. Martin’s story shows that people don’t need money to be generous—he pays close attention to everything Caitlin writes in her letters and always writes her back, even when it comes at great personal cost (since stamps are expensive in Zimbabwe at the time). Martin’s story also shows how diligence and persistence can solve problems that seem insurmountable—his dream of studying at an American university seems impossible, but with some help from Caitlin’s family, he is able to make it happen.

Martin Ganda Quotes in I Will Always Write Back

The I Will Always Write Back quotes below are all either spoken by Martin Ganda or refer to Martin Ganda. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Kindness and Generosity Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Caitlin, September 1997 Quotes

I’d never heard of Zimbabwe. But something about the way the name looked on the blackboard intrigued me. It was exotic, and difficult to pronounce.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Mrs. Miller
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, October 1997 Quotes

Everyone started chattering. We all knew and loved America. It was the land of Coca-Cola and the WWF, World Wrestling Federation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, November 1997 Quotes

When I unfolded the letter, a small snapshot fell onto my desk.

I could not believe my pen pal would send me something so precious. Photos are very rare and quite expensive in Zimbabwe.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Mrs. Jarai
Related Symbols: Photographs
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Caitlin, January 1998 Quotes

The next line really cracked me up: Have you heard the one from Spicy Girls, which says friendship never ends?

I laughed out loud when he called them “Spicy,” and hoped that the line would be our motto.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker)
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, April 1998 Quotes

The next evening, with a full belly, I wrote Caitlin a letter. I thanked her for the very generous dollar bill and told her I would send her something in return soon. I considered sending her a Zimbabwean dollar but knew that was one day’s worth of sadza. So instead, I made the only promise that I knew I could keep: that I would always write back, no matter what.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 52
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, December 1998 Quotes

It was strange, because even though we had never met, Martin was the only person I felt I could be totally honest with. I never worried that he would judge or tease. On the contrary, I could tell Martin whatever was happening in my life, knowing he’d always take my side, no matter what.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Martin’s Father (George Ganda)
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Martin, January 1999 Quotes

Toward the end of 1998, things really began to disintegrate for my family. I was just about to finish Form Two, the equivalent of eighth grade in America. Nation and I began working after school as well as weekends in order to help feed our family. My father’s paycheck was never enough. It was rough. Worse, I could see how it affected my father. He was no longer singing when he came home, if he came home at all. Some nights he’d creep in late, well after we had all gone to sleep. I’d wake up, not from any noise but from the sweet, rancid smell of Chibuku.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, May 1999 Quotes

I continued to check the mail every single day for weeks. And then one day, I saw an envelope so completely covered with stamps it barely had space for my name and address. Martin was alive! I ripped it open, thrilled. But when I unfolded the actual letter, I gasped. My friend was writing to me on trash.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, June 1999 Quotes

A lesser man may have been threatened by Caitlin’s generosity. Here was a fourteen-year-old girl sending us more money than my father made in several months. My father only had love and respect for Caitlin. Her letters had always been precious to me. Now they were also crucial to my whole family. We were on a ship that was sinking, huddled at the tip before it went under. Caitlin’s gift was a lifeboat.

My mother was afraid to keep this much money in our house. It made us a target in these difficult times.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:

Alois was even more put together than my uncle. He wore a suit and tie, like the managers at my father’s work, but he was only in his mid-twenties. He greeted me with a firm handshake and a broad smile, then introduced me to several of his colleagues before taking me to the tea station.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Alois, Sekai
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Caitlin, November 1999 Quotes

Reading that letter brought tears to my eyes. He was so proud. He had never asked me for help. Asking my parents for help was probably one of the hardest things for him to have to do. He did not want to burden me. He knew that I would get sick worrying about him in such need. But there it was, written on paper, a huge SOS. My parents knew I had a pen pal in Zimbabwe, but they did not know how close we had become. That evening, I decided to tell them everything. It was the only way I could truly help Martin.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, November 1999 Quotes

And then, like magic, a letter arrived.

This one, however, had been ripped and taped back up in a crude way. Someone had written in capital letters INSPECTED FOR CONTRABAND across Caitlin’s beautiful penmanship. It felt like a violation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 Quotes

Thanks to Caitlin, we ate chicken for Christmas that year, a miracle considering what our friends and neighbors were experiencing. In Zimbabwe, if you have food, you share it, so our neighbors ate chicken with us.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 (2) Quotes

Thank you for your effort, love, and time. Thank you for the shoes you gave us. My mom, I repeat, is now counted as a human in society.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, January 2001 Quotes

“You’re too late! We’re already filled up,” he said. “Besides, there are many qualified students here who need to get in; we don’t even have space for them.”

“I’ve come all the way from Chisamba Singles to speak to you,” I countered. “Please, give me a chance.”

That quieted him.

“I have an uncle that lives near there,” he said. “That’s a tough place.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker)
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, April 2001 Quotes

The day after my birthday, my mom took me out of school to go get my learner’s permit. Damon met me at the DMV—he had skipped school, but lied to my mom when she asked him why he had the day off.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, July 2001 Quotes

Hours later, a nurse confirmed it was malaria—thankfully not cerebral. She needed IV fluids immediately. She was so dehydrated that she was at risk of dying without them. But the hospital couldn’t afford to supply any medicine. Instead, the nurse told us what we needed, and then we had to secure it.

“There is a man outside wearing a blue shirt,” she said. “He sells IVs.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 267
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Martin, June 2002 Quotes

I was surprised to receive a letter from Caitlin’s mom. In it she offered to help me navigate the complicated American college admission process. I was so happy to hear this. It was further proof that Caitlin was not the only angel in this family.

Anne asked me if I had ever heard of the SATs. I had, in fact, because my good friend Wallace had taken them earlier that year. He, too, was planning to go to school in the States that September.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 290
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Caitlin, June 2003 Quotes

Today was different.

“We’d better start thinking about how to break it to him,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, July 2003 Quotes

The first line of the email was like rocket fuel:

We are pleased to offer you a full scholarship beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year.

It propelled me from my seat. The breath I’d been holding for the past few months came barreling out of my mouth as I shouted, “Yesssssss!”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, August 15, 2003 Quotes

I felt Caitlin squeeze my hand, and I squeezed back. After six years of imagining what it would be like to see her, to hug her, to hear her laugh, to hold her hand, here she was, my best friend from afar, now standing right next to me.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 380
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Martin, March 5, 2008 Quotes

Watching him exchange vows with Caitlin earlier that day, I got a bit choked up. Caitlin and I had already shared so many milestones—and still have many ahead. I did not know then that I would go on to do my MBA at Duke, or that Caitlin would finish her nursing degree, as she had planned since she was sixteen or give birth to a beautiful baby girl. All I knew was that we both had witnessed so many of each other’s dreams come true.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Dzmitry Alifirenka
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Caitlin, October 2015 Quotes

I have no idea what any of these young people will do with the emotions our story stirred in each of them—but I am excited by the possibilities. It’s why I wanted to write this book.

Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Lois
Page Number: 396
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire I Will Always Write Back LitChart as a printable PDF.
I Will Always Write Back PDF

Martin Ganda Quotes in I Will Always Write Back

The I Will Always Write Back quotes below are all either spoken by Martin Ganda or refer to Martin Ganda. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Kindness and Generosity Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Caitlin, September 1997 Quotes

I’d never heard of Zimbabwe. But something about the way the name looked on the blackboard intrigued me. It was exotic, and difficult to pronounce.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Mrs. Miller
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, October 1997 Quotes

Everyone started chattering. We all knew and loved America. It was the land of Coca-Cola and the WWF, World Wrestling Federation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, November 1997 Quotes

When I unfolded the letter, a small snapshot fell onto my desk.

I could not believe my pen pal would send me something so precious. Photos are very rare and quite expensive in Zimbabwe.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Mrs. Jarai
Related Symbols: Photographs
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Caitlin, January 1998 Quotes

The next line really cracked me up: Have you heard the one from Spicy Girls, which says friendship never ends?

I laughed out loud when he called them “Spicy,” and hoped that the line would be our motto.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker)
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, April 1998 Quotes

The next evening, with a full belly, I wrote Caitlin a letter. I thanked her for the very generous dollar bill and told her I would send her something in return soon. I considered sending her a Zimbabwean dollar but knew that was one day’s worth of sadza. So instead, I made the only promise that I knew I could keep: that I would always write back, no matter what.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 52
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, December 1998 Quotes

It was strange, because even though we had never met, Martin was the only person I felt I could be totally honest with. I never worried that he would judge or tease. On the contrary, I could tell Martin whatever was happening in my life, knowing he’d always take my side, no matter what.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Martin’s Father (George Ganda)
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Martin, January 1999 Quotes

Toward the end of 1998, things really began to disintegrate for my family. I was just about to finish Form Two, the equivalent of eighth grade in America. Nation and I began working after school as well as weekends in order to help feed our family. My father’s paycheck was never enough. It was rough. Worse, I could see how it affected my father. He was no longer singing when he came home, if he came home at all. Some nights he’d creep in late, well after we had all gone to sleep. I’d wake up, not from any noise but from the sweet, rancid smell of Chibuku.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, May 1999 Quotes

I continued to check the mail every single day for weeks. And then one day, I saw an envelope so completely covered with stamps it barely had space for my name and address. Martin was alive! I ripped it open, thrilled. But when I unfolded the actual letter, I gasped. My friend was writing to me on trash.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, June 1999 Quotes

A lesser man may have been threatened by Caitlin’s generosity. Here was a fourteen-year-old girl sending us more money than my father made in several months. My father only had love and respect for Caitlin. Her letters had always been precious to me. Now they were also crucial to my whole family. We were on a ship that was sinking, huddled at the tip before it went under. Caitlin’s gift was a lifeboat.

My mother was afraid to keep this much money in our house. It made us a target in these difficult times.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:

Alois was even more put together than my uncle. He wore a suit and tie, like the managers at my father’s work, but he was only in his mid-twenties. He greeted me with a firm handshake and a broad smile, then introduced me to several of his colleagues before taking me to the tea station.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Alois, Sekai
Page Number: 125
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Caitlin, November 1999 Quotes

Reading that letter brought tears to my eyes. He was so proud. He had never asked me for help. Asking my parents for help was probably one of the hardest things for him to have to do. He did not want to burden me. He knew that I would get sick worrying about him in such need. But there it was, written on paper, a huge SOS. My parents knew I had a pen pal in Zimbabwe, but they did not know how close we had become. That evening, I decided to tell them everything. It was the only way I could truly help Martin.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, November 1999 Quotes

And then, like magic, a letter arrived.

This one, however, had been ripped and taped back up in a crude way. Someone had written in capital letters INSPECTED FOR CONTRABAND across Caitlin’s beautiful penmanship. It felt like a violation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 Quotes

Thanks to Caitlin, we ate chicken for Christmas that year, a miracle considering what our friends and neighbors were experiencing. In Zimbabwe, if you have food, you share it, so our neighbors ate chicken with us.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 (2) Quotes

Thank you for your effort, love, and time. Thank you for the shoes you gave us. My mom, I repeat, is now counted as a human in society.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, January 2001 Quotes

“You’re too late! We’re already filled up,” he said. “Besides, there are many qualified students here who need to get in; we don’t even have space for them.”

“I’ve come all the way from Chisamba Singles to speak to you,” I countered. “Please, give me a chance.”

That quieted him.

“I have an uncle that lives near there,” he said. “That’s a tough place.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker)
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, April 2001 Quotes

The day after my birthday, my mom took me out of school to go get my learner’s permit. Damon met me at the DMV—he had skipped school, but lied to my mom when she asked him why he had the day off.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, July 2001 Quotes

Hours later, a nurse confirmed it was malaria—thankfully not cerebral. She needed IV fluids immediately. She was so dehydrated that she was at risk of dying without them. But the hospital couldn’t afford to supply any medicine. Instead, the nurse told us what we needed, and then we had to secure it.

“There is a man outside wearing a blue shirt,” she said. “He sells IVs.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 267
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Martin, June 2002 Quotes

I was surprised to receive a letter from Caitlin’s mom. In it she offered to help me navigate the complicated American college admission process. I was so happy to hear this. It was further proof that Caitlin was not the only angel in this family.

Anne asked me if I had ever heard of the SATs. I had, in fact, because my good friend Wallace had taken them earlier that year. He, too, was planning to go to school in the States that September.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 290
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Caitlin, June 2003 Quotes

Today was different.

“We’d better start thinking about how to break it to him,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, July 2003 Quotes

The first line of the email was like rocket fuel:

We are pleased to offer you a full scholarship beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year.

It propelled me from my seat. The breath I’d been holding for the past few months came barreling out of my mouth as I shouted, “Yesssssss!”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, August 15, 2003 Quotes

I felt Caitlin squeeze my hand, and I squeezed back. After six years of imagining what it would be like to see her, to hug her, to hear her laugh, to hold her hand, here she was, my best friend from afar, now standing right next to me.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 380
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Martin, March 5, 2008 Quotes

Watching him exchange vows with Caitlin earlier that day, I got a bit choked up. Caitlin and I had already shared so many milestones—and still have many ahead. I did not know then that I would go on to do my MBA at Duke, or that Caitlin would finish her nursing degree, as she had planned since she was sixteen or give birth to a beautiful baby girl. All I knew was that we both had witnessed so many of each other’s dreams come true.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Dzmitry Alifirenka
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Caitlin, October 2015 Quotes

I have no idea what any of these young people will do with the emotions our story stirred in each of them—but I am excited by the possibilities. It’s why I wanted to write this book.

Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Lois
Page Number: 396
Explanation and Analysis: