Carol Ofori creates kids books to ignite their love for Africa

Carol Ofori is no newbie when it comes to the world of broadcasting and has made a name for herself in the industry for two decades.

She dons many hats, that of radio and TV presenter, voice over artist, mom, wife and is adding author to the fold.

She has created a new book series The African adventures of Sena and Katlego, a project she has been secretly working on for four years.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE she said it was while reading to her child that she noticed there were limited picture books that represented African children.

“I used to read a lot to my son when I was in the concept of writing the book. This was four years ago.  I would read all these books and the language was just too much for him. Some images  didn’t make sense. I was like 'I'm sure I can do this better. I'm sure I can do this so my kid can understand'.”

She said she saw the attachment her child had to his furry toy and that was a lightbulb moment that birthed her concept.

“I thought how do I make Katlego come alive and what if I make him magical. We are a pan-African family with family all over the world. But I thought let me not isolate this to family but all over the continent and let's let him have family in every country in some way.  That’s exactly how I came up with the concept.  I haven't been to all these countries I've written about so there were some countries I had to read up on.”

The book series, published by Lingua Franca Publishers, is a  educational read for children which celebrates Africa and its countries, landscapes and traditions.

“I have a strong passion for the continent and it was important for my children to love this continent before admiring the Eifel Tower or Statue of Liberty. I want them to admire the icons and the beacons we have in the continent before wanting to explore those places. I thought I need to ink something that will allow my kids to have that and also like a living legacy for them.”

The African adventures of Sena and Katlego book series are based on reality and the  imagination of Carol's son.

“Four years ago I thought what book can I write that’s going to represent what I needed to do. Sena is my son’s name, and Katlego is my son’s best friend who is a furry toy. He was two years old at that stage and  wouldn't go anywhere without his little furry Katlego.”

She created the six book series to inspire African children to be proud of themselves.

“I think its important to have a situation where as Africans we bring in children’s books and narratives that encourage our children to appreciate the fact that we are Africans and we want them to know it’s a beautiful thing to be an African child. I always say I don’t think it’s a coincidence that God broke the world into little pieces and left Africa as one continent. I believe that was on purpose. He did that because He wants the unification of the African people.”