DRIVEN by her passion to help children, Durban resident and UKZN lecturer, Dr Maud Mthembu recently published her book entitled Uhambo Lwami Ngesikhathi seKhovithi, which means My Journey during Covid-19 times.
Mthembu, who works at the School of Applied Sciences at UKZN as a social worker, released the IsiZulu storytelling book with the aim of shedding light on the impact the virus has had on the lives of children.
“I have been working with children for a long time and I do a lot of research on issues that involve children. These include children abuse, children neglect and child protection issues,” said Mthembu.
When asked what prompted the idea for the book, she said, “We don’t necessarily spend time thinking about the impact of the pandemic on children. As we know Covid-19 does not necessary cause a lot of vitality issues on children but they are affected. They lose their loved ones and the problem of lockdown and social isolation affects children when they can’t play with their friends and go to school. These changes sometimes cause trauma.”
Mthembu added that often children are not given an opportunity to express their feelings about the changes around them when a loved one dies.
She said this book is written in a language that is easy for children to understand and targets children at the age of six and above who find it difficult to communicate about how they feel.
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“This book is written in IsiZulu to help children who are young and may not fully understand English. The book is written in an integrated and friendly way and it also allows children to colour in, so that they can personalise the characters in different ways,” said Mthembu.
The book centres around the story of Nsimu. Through her character, she narrates her story through Covid-19 and shares how she lost her grandmother, the only care-giver she knew, through Covid-19.
The story also highlights the changes that occurred when her grandmother passed away. “I am sure organisations that work with children will find the book very useful as well as parents and teachers who work with kids. It is important for our children to read and to be aware of the issues that are happening around them and to give them a space to talk about Covid, what it means and the impact of it. The book will be useful for everyone,” added Mthembu.
The book is available at the Meyrick Benent Clinic in Glenwood. Alternatively, contact Mthembu at mthembum4@ukzn.ac.za or 082 812 1761.
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