By Sabina Elago
WINDHOEK– Award winning children’s book author Helvi Itenge-Wheeler launches the latest publication of Yambeka Children Media, titled Sam Nujoma, the Founding President of Namibia tomorrow at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC).
According to Itenge-Wheeler the book tells the story of the Founding President of Namibia, Dr Sam Nujoma, from his childhood to the dawn of Namibia’s Independence. It follows Namibia’s struggle for liberation from South African apartheid rule, and the era of reconciliation that followed. The book will inspire and educate children. It is highly recommended for youth in their quest to learn about this chapter in Namibia’s history.
She says the book is an invaluable source of knowledge for the smallest members of Namibian society. It presents the story of the Founding President in a simplified and interesting way that will appeal to children. “I seek to contribute to the promotion of a reading culture amongst young people, and also to educate them about Namibia’s struggle for independence. Our history needs to be told and passed on to our children and the generation to come. Our children need to know the contribution and sacrifices that our Founding Father made along with other freedom fighters,” says Itenge-Wheeler.
The lack of story books in government’s primary schools that she find out on the research she made in 2012 during the First Namibia Book Fair, gave her the idea to write this book. She completed her Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Illinois and she is the founder of Yambeka Children Media. To date she has published nine books based on Namibian and other African traditional tales, four of which received Namibian Children’s Book Forum award in 2012.
Itenge-Wheeler has collaborated with the FNCC and the Goethe Zentrum in Windhoek in staging the first Youth Book Fair in Namibia in 2012. “I plan to continue writing traditional tales for children, as well as other books that promote African languages or document the stories of the continent’s heroes and heroines,” she says. “Sam Nujoma the founding president of Namibia book” is available in the market and it will be sold at the launch.