Help kids be kids again

In Short: I need an opportunity to Illustrate and publish a Kiddies Book into 11 south African languages. in 2018 when i was travelling on a bus from Pretoria to Durban, i met a lady 28 years old, we got talking and out of the blue she shared a story with me, of how she was abused when she was young and how it haunts her still to this day, she cried about it, 28 years later still. i was miserable, shocked and angry especially when she ended the story by saying that besides her sister i, i was the only other person who knows. I shared the story with other friends of mine and wow, it was like an avalanche, people opened-up about the issue,...' sexual abuse while young' and not knowing who to tell and how. I have been thinking a lot about her and the pain she carries still for so long. And this is how i want to honour her, to give a smile back to a child, a smile she never got to wear. Let Kids be kids again. here is the book....Enjoy

Tell Someone…A Kids Story by Josh Mlambo

At school in front of class

Hello everyone, My Name is Mika I am nine years old girl, I love my Parents, my sweets, my School and my friends very much, and yes, I Love them in that order.I am going to tell you a personal story, a story of courage, a story that you might have experienced yourself. This is what happened to me…

Mika: Hello uncle Dumi, how are you doing? Please may I have two Cadbury sweets?

Uncle Dumi: Hello beautiful Mika, that will cost 2 rand.

Mika: Ok, my mama gave me R5 pocket money today and I only bought a packet of Simba chips at school, I have R3 left, please may I have 3?

Uncle Duma: Ok Mika, because you are a good girl, I’ll give you an extra one. Here you go.

Mika: Thank you, but no, my dad said I must not take things for mahala (Free).

Uncle Dima: Your father and I are friends, he won’t mind, here take it.

Mika: are you sure?

Dumi: Yes, I am sure, besides you don’t have to tell him, it will be our little secret.

Mika: Mmmhh, but I am not supposed to keep secrets.

Dumi: If you keep this one, one day I will show you were I get all the nice sweets from.

(Mika thinks about it Takes the free sweet)

Mika: Ok bye, I’ll enjoy these on my way home.

Uncle Duma: Ok Mika….say hello to your father, tell him we have not seen him in the shop for a long time now. Bye.

Mika: Will do so uncle …bye.

Mika arrives Home

Mika: Hello Mom, hello Papa.

Mom: Hello Mika, how are you My Baby?

Papa: Hello baby, did you have a good day?

Mika: Yes, I am good and I had a good day, I even passed by the corner shop and bought some sweets. I only have one left; would you like to taste one papa? Oh, and before I forget uncle Dumi said to say hello.

Mama: Aww Mika why do you only give a sweet to your Papa and not me? (with a smile)

(Mika lies)

Mika: Aah Mama, I only have one, but you know I love you right? (gives her mom a hug)

Papa: Thank you Mika, now do as your mom says; do your homework first, then go play and we will call you in for supper.

Mika: Ok Papa I love you too you know.

The next day Mika wakes up and goes to school, it’s now lunch break.

Mika: Lesedi, let’s go get some Simba chips at the tuck-shop.

Lesedi: Ok Mika lets go, wait…you know what, I think I dropped my pocket money on the bus this morning.

Mika: Don’t worry, I have R5 it should be enough for 2 packets.

Lesedi: Ok thanks Mika lets go.

Mika: Hello Mama can we please get two packets of Simba chips?

Tuck-shop Minder: Here you go Mika.

Mika: Thanks Mama, Lesedi here you go this one is yours.

Lesedi: Thanks Mika.

After school, the bus drops Mika off and she is walking past Uncle Dumi’s Shop

Uncle Dumi: Hello Mika, how are you?

Mika: Hello Uncle Dumi I am good thank you, how are you?

Uncle Dumi: I am good thank you…aww you are not buying sweets today, I will go poor without you.

Mika: I would have loved to but I do not have money today, I finished it all at school.

Uncle Dumi: Ok…you know what, come into the shop and I will give you sweets for free and you can pay me when you get the money.

Mika: My dad said I must never take things for mahala (free).

Uncle Dumi; Come on Mika, you already took a sweet for free yesterday, besides you know that I am friends with your dad, so this is not a problem. If you come in I will give you any sweet you want.

Mika: Any sweet really?

Uncle Dumi: Yes Mika, you can choose any sweet you want. Come in, there are some really nice sweets back there, that is where I keep my special ones for special people like you.

Mika: Are you sure? I don’t really want to go back there.

Uncle Dumi: That is the special sweetie place I was telling you about. Come. You know me and I know your parents so there is nothing wrong here, you can trust me, just come in.

Mika: Ok, I guess there is nothing wrong

Mika walks into the shop, past the counter into another room, when she gets there, the entire room is full of sweets and it is breathtaking.

Mika: Yhoo, yhoo, so many sweets.

Uncle Dumi: Yep, all the sweets you will ever need, here try this one, it melts in your mouth.

Mika: Mmmmmh that’s yummy so nice, can I have another?

Uncle Dumi: Wait Mika, can you see now that I am a nice uncle? And a good girl like you ought to be nice to a person who is being nice to them right?

Mika: Yes, that is true.

Uncle Dumi: Good then Mika, do you want this one?

Mika: Yes, I do.

Uncle Dumi: Come closer then Mika, come closer, come get it.

Mika moves closer and uncle Duma slides his right hand between her thighs under her school dress and touches her private parts.

Mika: Stop! Mummy says I must not let anyone touch me there.

Uncle Dumi: Mika, as parents we do and say a lot of things we don’t mean, your mommy did not mean that.

Mika: How do you know that?

Uncle Dumi: Because I am a parent myself and I do that a lot, anyway if you want any of my sweets you will come closer and if you come closer you will be giving me permission to touch you there. Well… Mika here you go, all the sweets you will ever want?

Mika: I don’t think I want to play this game anymore.

Uncle Dumi: Ok you will have to leave my shop now and I will not allow you to buy sweets here again. Also, I will tell your father you took a sweetie for mahala (Free)

Mika thinks about it and makes a cringed face and she moves closer to grab the sweets in his hand, Uncle Duma touches her inappropriately and when he is done he says:

Dumi “Don’t ever tell anyone about this or I will never give you sweets or let you buy from my shop ever again!

Mika leaves the shop teary, she runs home that day and goes straight to her room and sleeps, when called to eat supper she said she is not hungry and continued sleeping.

The abuse continues for days on end. Mika has become moody and very short tempered in nature

Papa: What is with your daughter these days, something is up, she is not the same bright spark that I am used to?

Mom: Yes, I have also noticed, she does not even take the pocket money we leave for her in the mornings. I will talk to her today.

Mika arrives home with a pencil bag full of sweets and puts it on the kitchen table

Mom: Mika, how are you, we don’t laugh together anymore My Baba, what is it, do I bore you now? (with a smile)

Mika: Its nothing mama

Mom sees pencil bag full of sweets

Mom: Mika, where did you get all these sweets in your pencil bag, I have left R5 for you every morning and you are not taking it, yet you come home with a pencil bag full of sweets …My baby where do you get the sweets from?

Mika: From nowhere mama.

Mom: Mika I need to know where these sweets come from, since you never took your pocket money.

Mika: They said I should not tell mama.

Mom: Who is they My Baby and why don’t they want you to tell?

Mika: They said being tattle-tale is not being a good girl and they said if I tell I will never get sweets again or be allowed to buy sweets at the shop again.

Mom: Who is they My Baby and why do they give you sweets?

Mika: Aaah Mama they said I should not tell!

Mom: My Baby, I am your mother I should know everything that you do, just like I tell you about my day, you don’t have to tell me everything, just tell me who gives you all these sweets and why?

Mika: Mammma

Mom: Nothing will happen to you My Baby. Nothing! Tell me who gives you all these sweets and why.

Mika: (Mika gets teary-eyed) I don’t know Mama, I can’t, I feel shame, I don’t know how to talk about it.

Mom: Mika you can tell me anything, you are safe with me, whatever it is, please tell me.

Mika: (crying) I get all these sweets from…from Uncle Dumi. He is not a good man…He gives me free sweets if I let him touch me down there in my private place.

Mika’s mom also teary-eyed gives Mika a hug and says thank you for telling me, you did nothing wrong My Baby. You must always tell someone you trust when someone does something to you that you don’t like. Mika’s mom calls the police and uncle Dumi is arrested for child abuse and sexual harassment.

The moral of the story: Tell some and if you haven’t… go now!

In class:

Teacher: Thanks for sharing that story with us…how are you Mika?

Mika: I am good thanks teacher.

Teacher: So, what do you have to say to all the young girls and boys out there who find themselves in the same situation you were in?

Mika: All I can say is Tell Someone you trust. Nothing will happen to you. Just tell someone.

Teacher: Is there anything you wish you could have done earlier?

Mika: Yes, I wish I Told Someone earlier.

Teacher: Mika in your opinion who do you think that someone is?

Mika: I think it can be anyone you trust and for me that someone was my Mom.

Teacher: Mika what is a person’s private place:

Mika: That is a very good question teacher, there are 5 places in total: The Mouth, the chest, the part between your legs, the thigs and the buttocks.

Teacher: that is true Mika if someone touches you there, and they are not your Mama, or your papa and the touch makes you feel uncomfortable Tell someone you trust. What else Mika?

Mika: If someone shows you a dirty movie or dirty picture or an older person undresses in front of you, Tell Someone you trust.

It is not your fault, it was not my fault.

Teacher: Mika you are our hero for today do you know why?

Mika: Is it because I told someone?

Teacher: You got it! Always, Tell Someone. If you are a boy or girl and someone is doing things to you that you don’t like, things that make you feel yukky and uncomfortable please TELL SOMEONE you trust.

That someone you trust: could be your Mom your Dad, your Sister, your Brother, your Friend, your Neighbor or even your Pastor at church…. Just TELL SOMEONE and if you haven’t GO NOW! Go Tell someone. If you tell someone you become our hero for the day because you will be helping all the other kids in the community.

So, what should you always do??...TELL SOMEONE you trust!!

Be the Hero of the day…. It is never too late to Tell SOMEONE and save all the other kids in the community.