The Sunday News
King George VI (KG6) a centre and school in Bulawayo for the physically disabled children has launched its second book titled Feel Free, This is Home. Sunday Life reporter, Judith Phiri (JP) caught up with King George VI’s musical director Tapiwa Nyengera (TN) one of the authors of the book who said the school has nurtured many successful people which has led them to write books and share their stories. Below are exerts of the interview:
JP: What was the first book about?
TN: The first book, Stars in a Plate and Small Friends was about different poems and in that book basically the children that were there were just expressing the different challenges that they faced, in terms of disability and it was well-received by people.
JP: Can you breakdown the tittle of the second book?
TN: It says Feel free, this is home and KG6 is an institution that is like home to us especially considering that some of us have come from backgrounds where disability is not taken well, be it by the community or by the society, families and things like that. So when you come here you become a part of a family that will be able to share with you new things.
A family that will be able to bring you into the place you are supposed to be in, for example, for me to be the Music Director it started with the training I had in the very same music room. So here I am a few years later after acquiring the knowledge I am now passing it on to the next generation.
So that’s part of the success stories. The other success story will be of one gentleman who is based in the United States of America, whom when he finishes doing his PHD will be a medical doctor and he has had to go through amputation and things like that, so those are some of the success stories that are there in the book.
JP: How many authors and chapters does the book have?
TN: So there are about 13 female authors and 16 male authors. All in all there are about 20 chapters in this book and each chapter has got its own theme or view of how a person persevered through various challenges and things like that.
JP: What are the themes in the book?
TN: The book has got what I would call action! We talk about love life, families, people who used to gossip behind our backs.
It’s like I’m undressing myself to say hey here I am, this is who I am and this is what I have gone through. One of the things that is in the book is a lot of suspense that when you start reading you want to know what that person went through, what does the next page have, how did the person manage to overcome this challenge and how did the person manage to take an achievement like. So the book has got a lot of good and exciting things in it. This booklet speaks of the success stories that we have had as former students of King George.
JP: What inspired you and the other authors to write the book?
TN: The inspiration came from wanting to pass on the knowledge that okay, fine, I use a wheelchair for mobility but I’m not a different person. I need to be loved, I need to love and I feel pain in as much as you also feel pain. Like if I pinch you right now you will feel pain and if you pinch me I will feel pain. So the only thing that will probably separate us is that I use a wheelchair for mobility. I can do things that you too can do like preparing my own dinner, laundry and cleaning but it just takes me a little bit longer than you. So it has become this place whereby that inspiration will come from that I have managed to be the person that I am because I have persevered through the challenges and I have kept on moving through everything to be who l am.
JP: On behalf of the other authors, how was the journey of writing this book?
TN: It was an eye opener to recap on things that l have gone through. One of the things that happen, I think it happens with almost everyone to say you go through certain things and in the process somethings become so natural that you start to take them for granted. But when you begin to go there then you begin to see that it wasn’t just by luck that you had to go through the things you went through, but it was because some certain some certain things had to be aligned for you to go through that process. It then motivates you to want to go through more. For me it was a journey to be thankful and to be appreciative of the things that l have gone through and also to determine me or to give me that courage to want to do more for the future.
JP: When did you and the other colleagues start to write this book and how long did it take you to finish?
TN: So the whole process took a few months. I could say four to five months to compile everything together. Then the book had to for editing that was about another month plus, after the editing we had to find out if everything was put in order, the right grammar, text content and everything. Then after that we came to a point where we said everything is ready the content, cover so l would say it took about six to seven months something like that.
JP: Who are the targeted audience for this book?
TN: The targeted audience for this book it’s basically anyone and everyone who would like to have more knowledge and understanding on disability. We are also targeting people that would like to know what our lives are and how best they also can be a part and parcel of our world per say. So basically these are our targets and the world at large.
JP: Where can people get a copy of the book?
TN: Currently it’s only available here at the school King George for $5 each. Plans are under way for us to start distributing to other outlets that can be point of sell. But as it is right now they are only at King George.
JP: Any word of encourage to youths that would wish to write book?
TN: Go for your dreams despite any challenges that you may face in your walk in life never give up!
