20 Mar 2022

A village on my shoulders, authored by Thabo Kabomo seeks to bring to the fore, issues deemed as taboo.

The 40 year-old Kanye native regards himself as observant and someone who not only listens with his ears but the heart too, which is not surprising considering he holds an Honours Degree in Psychology.

Speaking at the launch of the book in Gaborone on Friday, the former University of North West student said he realised that people carried burdens that they were not comfortable to talk about, which at times led to suicide.

He said the book talked about adding value to one’s life and the lives of those around them as well as working to change the world, to make it a better place.

“If you read this book you will pick something that resonates with your life. This book is about life experiences.

I urge Batswana to add purpose and value to their lives,” stated Kabomo. He said the title, A village on my shoulder, was figurative and sought to encourage people to look into how they lived their lives, how they could add value to it by changing their mindset.

Kabomo gave an example of the COVID-19 era where people were affected mentally and said it was a time depicting uncertainties and got everyone worried about the future because no one knew what was in store.

“In the journey of my life, I meet a lot of people and with this book, I believe that I have changed life’s somehow. Everybody can make a difference in the community if they help one another, behave kindly and listen to one another.

It’s almost a year now and I cannot come to terms with the fact that I wrote a book.

I believe it was God’s time. The book is not a novel, but a book that one can read and hesitate to put down because anyone can relate to it as it is enjoyable to read,” said Kabomo.

His friend, Lazarus Takawira he said was a true friend who pushed him to write the book.

Kabomo said he was positive his readers would pick in the book that if people were all happy, there would be less stress and problems in life.

Takawira also a writer, said it was an honour to work with Kabomo whom he said was humble and full of wisdom. Takawira reckoned Africans had so much to give and so much to say and urged the public to read and critic the book and engage in the conversation because it was a conversation that people chose not to talk about.

Elder brother to Thabo, Samuel Kabomo said the saying that ‘God’s time is the best time,’ had come to pass in Thabo’s life.

“One may not know what could have happened had he published it last year or even next year, but grace has fallen on him,” he said. He was grateful to those who came to witness the launch. ENDS