Aiming to educate children, inspire inclusion, and enhance technological curiosity among kids, technology enthusiast, Stella Murungi, found book writing the perfect way to make an impact. Murungi, who launched her debut children’s book titled “Adventures of Feza” on December 20, said she saw a gap in how Rwandan children and young people are inspired to pursue technology, and she decided to do her part. Murungi, who is the Chief Digital Officer in the Ministry of Justice, said her passion for technology and a desire to spark curiosity in children inspired the book, which also has a theme of inclusivity. ALSO READ: Call for authentic children's literature to nurture African values The book narrates a story of Feza, a girl kid who was born with only one arm but possesses remarkable technological powers and embarks on adventures and exploration of the world without ever feeling excluded from her peers. Murungi emphasized the character of Feza embodies strength and inclusivity. Feza embarks on adventures and encounters the magic of technology, Murungi said. I wanted to bring out the aspect of technology and inclusivity. You see Feza is fearless and capable, despite not having one arm. She late gets a robotic arm.” ALSO READ: Rwanda mulls integrating robotics into school curriculum “Children or young people are not exposed enough to technology and yet there is a lot of advancements in that field,” Murungi said. “We need talented, exposed, curious, and a lot of imaginative children joining the workforce or working on different projects or big dreams.” Murungi said she initially wanted to establish a school to make her impact but that remains an ambitious endeavor. While she still holds on to that dream, she decided to create educational content for children through writing. “I wanted to create content that is not just entertainment, but also one with an educational aspect to it. That is how I write the Adventures of Feza,” she said. The electrical and communications engineer wants more girls pursuing mathematics, engineering, science and technology (STEM). Murungi added that she wanted to inspire and empower women to join the STEM. “I also wanted to empower women or girls to join STEM subjects, not leaving of course the boy child because we are all in this together,” she noted. “I want the kids to feel like they can do anything they want to do in the world,” she noted. On the book’s character choice, Murungi stressed that she deliberately chose a character with disability to promote inclusion. “I chose a differently abled character to capture uniqueness and representation. There is a girl child represented, and there are special abled children that also need representation,” she said. “It was really about representation so that if a kid reads the book, they can also see themselves in the story, but also even other kids to feel like they can do anything. If Feza, who is differently abled, can do it, they, too, can do it.” Murungi said she would work with different partners to make sure that the book reaches children from different backgrounds. She also intends to translate it into multiple languages. Diane Iradukunda, Acting Head of the Child Development, Protection, and Promotion Department at the National Child Development Agency (NCDA), commended Murungi's contribution to children's development and encouraged other authors to produce educational content for young audiences. “We want to have many people to write and different partners who want to contribute to promoting the reading culture among young children in Rwanda,” Iradukunda said.
