Tanzania’s youngest motivational author
“I wrote a book because it lasts longer than anything else. Other things are there, and then they are gone.” These are the words of Tanzania’s youngest author, Russell Ruge Mutahaba.
Nine year old Russell, commonly known as JuhJuh, has set the trend this past week by launching his first book titled “Change Your World” on Monday 15 March, 2021.
His mother describes him as a reserved yet very inquisitive child. He asks a lot of questions, loves to read and is very imaginative. Unlike her son, Zamaradi Mketema explains that she is not much of a reader.
She narrates of the first time her son brought her a book with a few of the chapters, she did not completely pay attention to it and as a result, lost the book. When he came asking about it later, she admitted to misplacing it to which he gave her another copy, something she is grateful for.
She then says she took time to read it, upon which she saw the wisdom on his words and decided to support him to the best of her ability. They made a pact that if he were to finish writing the book; she would help him publish it.
Young Citizen had the chance to sit down with him and his mom, Zamaradi Mketema, to talk about his achievement as a young, published author.
YC: What inspired you to write this book JuhJuh?
Ju: I wanted to inspire young boys and girls so that they realize that they can learn about the power of a good attitude in their life.
Q: How do you come up with a story?
A: I am the idea guy. I explain the idea to my two friends and then we write and work on it.
Q: What do you have to say to your mom right now?
A: Obviously I would say thank you mom for supporting my dream and believing in me.
I also want to say to other parents that you should listen to your children and what they say they want to do and then try to help them so that they can succeed.
Although JuhJuh’s mother Zamaradi admits to having had dismissed her son at first, she also does admit that she’s glad he was persistent enough to insist on his vision, an act that pushed her to support him.
“The only thing I did to this book was translating it from English to Kiswahili for those kids who may have found English to be a challenge” explained Zamaradi.
“Everything else in the book, from the choice of words to the flow and chapter arrangement, I left exactly as he wrote to preserve his thoughts and intentions.”
Zamaradi further encourages and emphasizes on the importance of parents listening to their children, their dreams and plans because she believes that way you will be better positioned to support and raise them into the unique individuals that they should be.
