Ekurhuleni resident Nthabeleng Sekhokoane is using her passion for writing to inspire and empower children to stand up against bullying and for themselves.
Nthabeleng is a journalist by profession and wanted to bring her two loves together, which is writing and children.
“I love writing and working with children. I decided to write this book for children using my life experience as an inspiration,” said Nthabeleng.
The name of the book is Sing Thando Sing.
“The book is about a little girl who loves singing but she is bullied at school about her voice. She eventually decides she won’t take it anymore and finally stands up for herself,” shared Nthabeleng.
The 32-year-old writer said she wanted to share a story that can connect with many children.
“The book is loosely based on my life. I was bullied at school when I was younger for my deep raspy voice as a child. One day, I told the children to leave me alone and stood up for myself. They never bullied me ever since.
“I know it may not be that easy to get bullies to stop but I want to encourage children to talk and stand up for one another and themselves through this book,” said Nthabeleng.
Also watch:
This is her first book and she said it has been well received.
“The response to the book has been good. The book has been made available in many primary schools with the assistance of the Gauteng Department of Education’s writers’ programme. I have sold about 850 copies so far,” said Nthabeleng.
She said the journey to getting her book published was not all smooth sailing.
“The support is limited and that makes it difficult to get published. I ended up investing in myself and self-published the book. I had to save up money and get my own illustrator, editor and designer, and I did. I got my book published on my own,” said Nthabeleng.
The book is ideal for children between the ages of four to 10.
“Sing Thando Sing it’s just a beautiful story I wanted to tell to children, with a great lesson too. Everyone has experienced things differently. I grew up in a positive home. But I still got bullied. I want to encourage children to speak out if someone makes them feel bad.”
Contact the newsroom by emailing: Marietta Lombard (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, or (Journalists) Busi Vilakazi busiv@caxton.co.za
