Mashita’s dedication to impart career information to young people has resulted in a children’s book which aims to explore children’s imaginations and teach them new terms relating to career options in the space industry.
Astro Bono follows a child named Bono (which translates to ‘vision’ in Tshivhenda) who has a ‘gift of stars’, an inherited knowledge about outer space.
Bono goes on space adventures and solves problems that affect the continent.
Mashita said she has always wanted to write a book and the nationwide lockdown has afforded her the opportunity to follow through with the idea.
“I am a procrastinator by nature so I announced on Instagram that I would publish a book in two months to make myself accountable. That was when the process started,” she said.
She explained that she had put herself in a tight corner as the process of compiling the book took longer than she had anticipated, with unforeseen challenges along the way.
One of the challenges was finances and when all was said and done, she had no money left to get the book published.
With the help from her parents, credit cards and an overdraft, Mashita finally got the book published.
“I thought the difficult part would be writing the book, but I was wrong. The difficulty begins with packaging it properly and getting people to buy into the idea. Luckily, when the first batch came, the orders followed,” she said.
Mashita expressed her gratitude for the support she has received and has even garnered interest abroad as a school in Bangladash has requested her to virtually read the book to their learners.
She also recited a part of the book for the National Library of South Africa (NLSA)’s World Read Aloud day webinar.
Mashita is working with the South African National Space Agency’s Earth Observation Division, who will celebrate the launch of their first satellite, Sunsat, on 23 February.
Astro Bono puzzles will follow soon, she said.
In the meantime, the book is available on enthnikids.africa or can be ordered via WhatsApp at 081 816 2495.
