12 Mar 2019

Through his book titled Little Yungo, The Village Saviour, Hani Thusi says he aims to inspire and motivate children to know that they can be an agent of change in their communities despite age.

Hani said in an interview that the book, which has illustrations for easy reading, targeted children aged eight years and above while adults could also enjoy reading it.

The 22-year-old Masunga native said Little Yungo means young, explaining that the story was about a young boy called Yungo who worked with his friends to rebuild a school in their village after it was struck down by lightning.

He said throughout the story Yungo and his friends gained wisdom from the elders and despite the challenges experienced, they continued working hard towards positively impacting their community.

On how he got to write the book which was published in 2015 by Bayton Books, Thusi, who is currently pursuing a degree in economics and psychology at the University of Botswana, said while at Maru-a-Pula in Gaborone, he was not performing well in English.

To improve, he said his mentor opted to pay for English lessons which improved his writing.

After realising that his English had improved, he said his mentor challenged him to write a book, hence the penning of Little Yungo, The Village Saviour.

Thusi said it took him two months to write the storyline and a month for the illustrations, noting that currently he was working with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development to avail the book in all the libraries across the country.

The book is available through Bayton Books and Sebilo Books in Oodi. ENDS