Motivating children to be heroes

THE need for fun, interactive educational material for young children around the themes of social awareness and responsibility has inspired two Cape Town women to launch a publishing company aimed at doing just that.

After 10 years of working on commissioned educational projects, from primary healthcare and child safety to fire awareness and environmental issues, illustrator Kate Boyes and former educator-turned-layout-artist Mandy Lomberg started Hero in My Hood, which develops affordable story/activity books in response to research that showed children needed to be encouraged to be “courageous and kind”.

“Activity books of this nature are a great educational tool as the children are engaged and involved in the story. They encourage empathy, compassion and responsibility,” said Boyes.

“The aim is to encourage children to be heroes within their own hoods (neighbourhoods or communities). They do the right thing, not because they will get into trouble if they don’t, but because they know and understand the value in doing it. Our by-line is ‘encouraging children to be courageous and kind’.”

As Lomberg pointed out, “By addressing the children in the books and encouraging them to help the characters by completing the activities, we hope to give them a sense of responsibility and achievement where they can feel instrumental in the positive outcome of the story, ultimately translating this into their own lives.”

The activities and story are connected, so that the child must complete the activity in order for the story to progress. In this way, the books are engaging and the child becomes instrumental in the story, say Boyes and Lomberg.

Their first publication, Let’s go to the Animal Clinic and Shelter with Lucky’s Activity Book, was developed with the help of Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha. It covers all the important aspects of pet care. The book is being widely, and successfully, used in education programmes by animal organisations throughout South Africa.