Celebrating three generations of book authors

It was a tale of three generations of book authors from one family. The effort of each generation in uplifting nature and wildlife was visible.

The event drew Uganda’s high-flying corporates from the private sector, and many animal lovers as: James William Ndhego, his mother Dr Gladys Kalema- Zikusoka and his grandmother Rhoda Kalema celebrated passion for writing.

By 11:00am, streams of guests had begun finding their way into Aristoc bookshop at Garden City for the book signing event in Kampala city.

Ndhego, a 19-year-old won the 2022 Moonbeam Children's Book Award for his book ‘Zoo Keeper For A Week' under the Animals/Pets Non-Fiction category.

He volunteered at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre as a junior zoo keeper at the age of 13 and turned his experience into an award-winning book.

Ndhego's story was first told in 2018 through Vision Group's Toto Magazine, which left many young readers thirsty for more.

“It all started as a fun activity. My mother organised for me to be a zoo keeper for a week. My father would drop me at the zoo at 8:00am every day and pick me up at 4:00pm. At the end of the week, they encouraged me to write and share my experience in the New Vision’s TOTO magazine.”

Ndhego's two-page article in Toto Magazine, in May 2018 was the inspiration for writing his award-winning book.

“Shortly afterwards, a family friend and children’s book author, Cathy Kreutter, advised that my story in TOTO magazine would make an enjoyable book and a good read for children because they like animals and fun activities. I decided to write.”

Ndhego’s busy school schedule had slowed the project down, but with the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown, he had plenty of time to focus on completion of his book.

Author Kreutter entered the book for the 2022 Moonbeam Children's Book Award.

It won a Gold medal under the Animals/Pets Non-Fiction category.

The 32-page book describes in detail each of the animals and birds at the centre plus their respective characteristics.

During the book signing, Ndhego encouraged young people to take charge of their future by learning about ways to reduce negative environmental impact – and sharing these with their families and later putting them into writing.

“For young people curious and keen to write, be open to ideas and opportunities. I didn’t think I would write, what opened the door for me was that I was open to the idea. Put in the energy and embraced it.” Ndhego, said.

His mother, Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, also wrote a book titled:  “Walking With Gorillas’ it is a memoir about her leadership journey.

She has been a conservation practitioner since 1996, and the Founder and CEO of the award-winning non-profit NGO Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) that set up one of the first One Health field programmes in the world to protect endangered gorillas and other wildlife.

During the event, Dr Kalema-Zikusoka encouraged Ugandans to write their stories describing writing as therapeutic.

At the same event,  95-year-old Rhoda Nsibirwa Kalema, a retired Ugandan female politician who detailed her life in an autobiography titled, “My Life is But a Weaving’ called upon the Ministry of Education officials to promote the culture of reading and writing in all primary schools.

“I am asking the minister of Education and other officials to discourage computers at lower levels. Primary school children need to be reading and writing. When they start using computers now, they will not get the culture of writing and reading,” Kalema argued.

Kalema’s book is about her life’s journey which has been littered with tragedies, pain, and tears but also interspersed with joyous, triumphant and gratifying moments.

“I am calling upon the young generation to read books, at my age I still read my newspapers every day. There is a lot of knowledge you will pass on to other generations if you embrace the reading culture,” she added.