After being tormented in pre-school and first grade, 8-year-old Lelo Kingston Mofokeng is using his experience to help others.
Meet 8-year old Lelo Kingston Mofokeng, Grade 3 pupil at The Ridge School, Jozi North, who has published a book, “How I survived bullying”, which according to Sowetan took him just 2 weeks to write. He has already written Lelo’s Life & Grey the Rabbit, which he plans publishing.
“One boy in my grade but not in my class used to bully me. He used to punch me in the stomach and push me around, he even threw my lunch out,” little Mofokeng said.
“I was scared. I thought if I bumped into Ken he would hit me. So I would hide under the table during break time and cried every time I saw him. My teacher kept telling me to stop crying and that he would not hurt me, but my brain was telling me he would. My teacher called my mother but that didn’t change anything. I was terrified of Ken. I didn’t want to be at that school anymore,” he added.
Mofokeng would process his feeling about the ordeal by writing. His mother, Lerato Rakgaba realized that the knowledge he gained could benefit others. His writings then materialized into a book titled: “How I Survived Bullying.”
The aspiring author and animator draws illustrations of the characters he writes about all by himself. “I want to work for DreamWorks and make movies one day. I like drawing. If DreamWorks is ready, then I’m ready,” he said.
He had a message for bullies, “Please stop bullying others because you don’t realise how much pain you are causing to another person and their family.”
Lelo Kingston Mofokeng is currently working on four more books.
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