Meet Quinlan Makalle, a teen with big dreams

December 4, 2022, was a double celebration for Quinlan Makalle, a Form Two student at the Dar es Salaam Independent School. He had turned 13 and released his first book, “The Adventures of Catman.”

The Adventures of Cat Man is a short story about a young kitten, desperate to help others, who falls into a large pot of chemical glue designed by his father. The villainous Bright Light’s whirlpool destroys his home planet, so Mark (the kitten) is forced to begin a journey to Earth. He gains superpowers from the glue and, along with fellow hero Black Beetle, saves the people of the Savannah where he landed.

After the book launch, Quinlan decided to do a charity pop-up sale at the NMB headquarters in the city centre to help orphans get medical insurance cards. That day, he sold about 20 copies of the book for about Sh10,000 each. The retail price is Sh7,000. Thirty percent of the earnings were used to provide orphans with medical insurance cards.

“I believe in giving to the less privileged and helping others. On June 16, this year, during the Day of the African Child, I organised about 30 schoolmates to visit the Upanga Juvenile Centre.”

Quinlan and colleagues donated footballs, soap, clothes, and watering cans to the centre. He says they chose the centre because they wanted to let the children there feel loved and remembered despite the situation they are in. They also had lunch together.

“I am looking forward to supporting a public primary school near my neighbourhood in Mbezi Tanki Bovu by selling 500 copies of my book and donating the money to the school so they may have a library,” he says.

Apart from writing, Quinlan enjoys sports. He is the captain of the under-13 basketball team at his school.

His favourite subjects are science and ICT, and his dream is to become a robotic engineer.

He calls upon parents to encourage and support their children in following their dreams.