Fourteen-year-old author Jobina Shovaleka launched her second book this week, coinciding with the launch of the Jobina Shovaleka Foundation.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare and former First Lady Monica Geingos.

Shovaleka says her inspiration to write stems from reading and her eagerness to make her family proud and inspire children to pursue their dreams.

Her foundation has eight different programmes, including the Child Health and Wellness Program, the Education and Scholarship Program, and the Children's Literacy Program, amongst others.

Shovaleka emphasised that children need encouragement and opportunities to develop their talents and to understand that they can make a meaningful contribution to the country.

"This book is really just a lot about kindness, your dreams changing right before your eyes and the impacts your actions have on your public image. Nowadays, we learners tend to be quite mean to one another. For example, you enter a room; all eyes are new, but not because you helped a girl after she fell down, but because you laughed at her. It's quite sad to see, but since there's not really anything I can do about it, I decided to write a book working around that specific point." 

Prime Minister Ngurare, commended Shovaleka for her efforts in encouraging children to pursue their dreams and talents through her books and the foundation.

He further stated that through these bold steps and as a young author, Jovina Shovaleka has the potential to make a positive difference in the lives of children.

"I want to say that we are here to support Jobina. And from what I have heard so far, from the east and west and north and south of Namibia, there are 121 constituencies and 14 regions of the country. If in each of those I have mentioned there is a Jobina, then we are on the right trajectory. We will no longer read books outside. We will read books that are coming from within."