19 Aug 2021

A budding writer, Chichi Rantleru says even though friends tend to like what their friends like without considering their talent, skill must prevail. 

Rantleru, who is doing Form Five at Seepapitso Senior Secondary School in Kanye, said aspiring writers should go into writing workshops and let serious critics look at the work to shape their aptitude, adding that one should not rush as even with talent, learning the craft takes time and effort. “One should consider working a draft until certain it is bulletproof,” she said.

Rantleru, who has four books under her belt, two of which were published and the other two are awaiting publication, officially launched Life is a Taxi and The Inner Exemption at Yarona Lodge in Mogoditshane recently. 

She said the reception of the two was impressive, noting that the other two unpublished books would soon hit the shelves.

Through the books, she offers advice to the youth who are faced with a myriad of challenges to be able to overcome them, through providing some solutions.

“The Inner Exemption is about examining the inner you and exempting yourself from within to the outside,” she said.

The 17-year-old said the compilation also included motivational stories that she gathered from different people to help inspire those who were going through similar situations. 

She said the book also sought to help inspire people to see change within their failures and how to deal with them. 

Rantleru, the first born of her family, said she went through ‘thick and thin’ in life and therefore had learnt a lot, hence the name Life is a Taxi.

The daughter to Fonny and Princess Rantleru, of Kgwakgwe ward observed that some people lacked the confidence to tackle their challenges head-on and therefore it was against this backdrop that she penned the book.

She opined that if used optimally, the books had the potential to reform and build good character. 

Rantleru, who is a staunch member of Tyrannus Apostolic Church, based in Kanye and deeply rooted in Christ, said believing in God gave her hope to achieve everything because ‘in Him everything is possible’.

She is also a top-notch student, who is always aiming for the best and has been among top achievers in every school, having obtained an upper B at Segopotso Primary for her Primary School Leaving Examinations and another upper B at Junior Certificate at Ngwaketse Junior secondary. She said at primary and secondary levels, she wrote several eye-catching essays that were presented to the whole class as an example, adding that she also had a good grasp of English. 

Rantleru said to add to her rich educational background, she also participated in Science and Mathematics career fairs as well as agricultural fairs at national level and did not disappoint. 

She said at junior secondary level, she also wrote mini-presentations in line with mentoring peers to become the best they could be in life, adding that in 2017, she was elected minister of justice in charge of enforcing school rules and regulations.

She said when she was doing Form Four, she was elected president of the school, tasked with the responsibility to ensure that every student was treated fairly and equally and that school regulations were followed by both teachers and students.

Rantleru is currently the head girl of Seepapitso Secondar School, making sure that prefects optimally performed their duties and that set COVID-19 protocols were observed. 

She said at Form Four, she started compiling information to kickstart her project of writing a book and at Form Five, she solicited sponsorship from companies and benevolent individuals to run more copies, but to no avail, leading to her parents sponsoring her.

She said she then approached Kanye South MP, Dr Lemogang Kwape as he is known for his philanthropic deeds, who pledged to assist with the print run only when she had finished selling the 200 copies that she had already printed through parents’ sponsorship. 

She said she would like to study law abroad, because the publishing industry and law require a good command of English and research skills so it would be easy for her to juggle the two.  

Rantleru also encouraged other aspiring writers to follow their dreams.   

Her mother, Princess revealed that an Indian publishing company: Pharos Publishing Company, has expressed interest to publish the books in India in native languages, after they are officially launched in Botswana.

She shared that she believed that in five years, her daughter would be well-established in the publishing industry.ends