Former Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, says every child should be comfortable in their own skin are and embrace diversity.
Madonsela, who has just launched a children’s book, “Melo’s Kingdom”, says the book embraces values such as integrity, truth, love and courage.
Melo’s Kingdom will take your little ones on an African Adventure. Melo, a character named after her granddaughter, Melokuhle, goes on an adventure with her purple elephant named Nzinga, meeting friends and other animals along the way.
African proverbs and some biblical values are incorporated in the short stories and there are fun activities in the book aimed at educating children in an engaging way.
Madonsela says African fables and proverbs were part of a staple diet when they were growing up, and her hope is for families to go back to this tradition.
“We thought the hardcover book would be the right thing to do during COVID- 19 because families are sitting together and often watching the same thing over and over again might be alienating. So we are hoping they read the stories and then play together the way we used to do when we were growing up. Increasingly in the digital age, particularly young people, feel unseen and unheard. And a lot of sociologists and psychologists are saying, this is why we are having a rise in violent extremism, anger and societal fracture.”
‘Wisdom, knowledge and values’
She hopes that through the book, wisdom, knowledge and values will be passed down to the young ones.
“Values of integrity, honesty, courage, love, kindness, compassion and hope. These are values that I grew up with. My stories being told over and over, they created a particular mindset. But I also hope that one of the values is being grounded spiritually.
Madonsela is well known for her courage and fighting against injustice and corruption.
“This helps to make sure that there are fewer people in society that would be corrupt, that would steal and lie. No system can function through policing alone. You need the majority of people to know the right thing, to do the right thing and to hold each other to account. But I do hope that in terms of integrity and ethics, the children that are going to read this book, and grown-ups will also look at ethics such as the ethic of care. To embrace diversity, not to discriminate against each other just because we don’t look alike.”
She says it is extremely important that children are grounded in the right values, and instilling the love of reading at an early age, gives a child an edge.
#Gratitude #MelosKingdom pic.twitter.com/JiQW9ZSrmV
— Prof Thuli Madonsela (@ThuliMadonsela3) October 22, 2020
In the videos below, Madonsela speaks about her book:
