Baada ya sala, watoto walitoa sadaka pamoja na wazazi wao.

Baada ya means after.

It is a very common Swahili pattern:

• baada = after / afterwards
• ya = a linker meaning of, used here before the following noun

So:

• baada ya sala = after the prayer / after prayer

You will often see:

• baada ya chakula = after the meal
• baada ya kazi = after work
• baada ya shule = after school

If a verb follows instead of a noun, Swahili often uses an infinitive:

• baada ya kusali = after praying

Sala usually means prayer. In religious contexts, it can also refer to a prayer service or a formal prayer time.

Depending on context, baada ya sala could be understood as:

• after prayer
• after the prayer
• after the service

So the exact English translation can vary a little depending on the situation.

Swahili does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So watoto can mean:

• children
• the children

The context tells you which English translation sounds natural.

Here, because the sentence refers to a specific group, English would often say the children, but Swahili simply says watoto.

Walitoa can be broken down like this:

• wa- = they
• -li- = past tense marker
• -toa = give out, produce, offer

So:

• wa-li-toa = they gave / they offered

Because watoto is a plural noun referring to people, the verb uses the plural subject marker wa-.

This is a very important Swahili pattern:

• mtoto alitoa = the child gave
• watoto walitoa = the children gave

It agrees with watoto.

In Swahili, verbs usually show who is doing the action through a subject prefix. Since watoto is plural and belongs to the human plural class, the verb takes wa-.

Compare:

• mtoto alitoa = the child gave
• watoto walitoa = the children gave
• mzazi alitoa = the parent gave
• wazazi walitoa = the parents gave

So the wa- in walitoa matches the plural human subject.

Sadaka usually means an offering, alms, donation, or sometimes sacrifice, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means a religious offering or donation.

So walitoa sadaka means:

• they gave an offering
• they made an offering

This is more natural here than a very literal they gave alms, unless the context is specifically about charity to the poor.

Just like with the, Swahili does not use a or an.

So sadaka can mean:

• an offering
• the offering
• offering

The context decides what sounds best in English.

That is why:

• walitoa sadaka can be translated as they gave an offering or they made an offering

Pamoja na means together with, along with, or sometimes simply with.

So:

• pamoja na wazazi wao = together with their parents

This phrase emphasizes that the children and their parents did the action together.

You can use pamoja na in many situations:

• alikuja pamoja na rafiki yake = he/she came with his/her friend
• tulikula pamoja na wageni = we ate together with the guests

In Swahili, possessives usually come after the noun.

So:

• wazazi wao = their parents
• literally: parents their

This is normal Swahili word order.

More examples:

• kitabu changu = my book
• rafiki yake = his/her friend
• watoto wetu = our children

So wazazi wao follows the regular noun + possessive pattern.

Wao means their, and it matches the noun class of wazazi.

In Swahili, possessives change to agree with the noun being possessed, not with the owner in the English way.

Since wazazi is a plural human noun, the possessive form is wao:

• mzazi wao = their parent
• wazazi wao = their parents

Other examples:

• mtoto wao = their child
• rafiki yao = their friend
• vitabu vyao = their books

So the form of the possessive depends on the noun class of the thing owned.

Yes, wazazi is definitely plural: parents.

The singular is:

• mzazi = parent

So:

• mzazi wao = their parent
• wazazi wao = their parents

If the sentence wanted to say with their parent, it would use mzazi wao, not wazazi wao.

Yes, the basic order here is quite similar to English.

The sentence is:

• Baada ya sala = time expression
• watoto = subject
• walitoa = verb
• sadaka = object
• pamoja na wazazi wao = accompanying phrase

So the structure is roughly: After prayer, the children gave an offering together with their parents.

This kind of order is very common in Swahili:

• time phrase
• subject
• verb
• object
• extra phrase

Yes, definitely.

A very literal translation is:

• they gave an offering

But in natural English, people often say:

• they made an offering

Both are fine, and the best choice depends on the context and the style of translation.

This is common when translating Swahili: a verb may be literal in form, but a different English expression may sound more natural.