<h3>Transcript</h3>
Voice 1&nbsp;

Welcome to Spotlight. I&rsquo;m Joshua Leo.

Voice 2&nbsp;

And I&rsquo;m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1&nbsp;

The story begins with an 11 year old girl. She lives in Ghana. The girl loves to read. One day, her father and his friends are talking to the girl. The friends ask the girl what she wants to be when she grows up. The girl remembers her books. She remembers the American hero Nancy Drew. This character is a young woman. She solves crimes in her city. The little girl tells the men that she wants to be just like Nancy Drew when she grows up.

Voice 2&nbsp;

The men begin to laugh loudly. They think what she said is funny! The little girl does not understand. The girl&rsquo;s father kindly explains that her dreams are based on American books. Nancy Drew is a story about an American girl, not an African girl. The books show a world that is different than the girl&rsquo;s.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Deborah Ahenkorah is the young girl from the story. As an adult, she is still interested in books. But now, she wants to give <em>other</em> children something she did not have. She wants to give African children stories that are more like their own lives. Today&#39;s Spotlight is on her organization, called Golden Baobab.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Deborah Ahenkorah believes that books are important for children everywhere. She told interviewer Leon Ong&rsquo;onge from allafrica.com:

Voice 3&nbsp;

&ldquo;I think if you are able to make children love reading, they can discover the joy of reading at an early age. And a lot of adult literacy problems would be solved. Also, books let children have the chance to have a childhood full of joy, laughter and imagination. This does not exist for many children on the continent of Africa.&rdquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

Ahenkorah attended university in the United States. While there, she began an organization that sent books to Africa. Ahenkorah shipped thousands of books. But one day she made an important discovery. She noticed a book with a picture of a girl. The girl was African. Ahenkorah suddenly had a new thought. The people in all of the other books she had sent were <em>not</em> African! As an 11 year old girl she did not have books about Africans. And now, ten years later, the problem was still the same. Ahenkorah knew she had to do something.

Voice 2&nbsp;

In 2008, Ahenkorah started Golden Baobab. This organization aims to provide books <em>for</em> African children that are written <em>by</em> African people. Golden Baobab does this in three ways. First, they organize programs and workshops. These workshops support African writers and illustrators, people who make the pictures for children&rsquo;s books. In these workshops writers can learn new things and improve their work. Second, Golden Baobab connects writers and illustrators to publishers. Finally, they offer the Golden Baobab Prize. This is the most famous way Golden Baobab works.

Voice 1&nbsp;

Every year Golden Baobab presents three prizes for excellence in children&rsquo;s writing. The first is for a picture book. The second prize is for a longer children&rsquo;s book. And the third is for a young writer under the age of 18. Golden Baobab began giving these prizes in 2008. Any writer who is a citizen from an African country can compete for the prize. Each story must be a new story, never published. And it must happen in Africa. It must show experiences Africans or African children could relate to.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Winners of the Golden Baobab Prize receive 1000 US dollars. They also can attend Golden Baobab&rsquo;s workshops. Winning stories also have a chance of being published.&nbsp; It can be difficult to find someone to publish a new book by a writer. But Golden Baobab works with high-quality publishers in Africa to publish these stories.

Voice 1

In 2012, Jenny Robson won the Golden Baobab Prize for her story &ldquo;Wha-zup Dude?&rdquo;. Robson lives in Botswana and is a music teacher. In her story &ldquo;Wha-zup Dude?&rdquo;, the main character is Kesha. He really wants a cell phone. He finds one hiding behind some plants. But when he answers it, there is a frightening man calling. Kesha wants to put the phone back. But he must do this without getting caught.

Voice 2&nbsp;

Reading African stories can have a big influence on African children. When children see characters who are like themselves in a story, they know that their experience is important. Tiffany Morris works for Golden Baobab. She believes that children need books they can relate to. In an interview on the Golden Baobab website she says:

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&ldquo;There is a kind of power that comes from seeing qualities of yourself in your childhood books. This sense of power is not always there for the children who live outside of the places where books usually come from like the US and Europe.&rdquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

Golden Baobab continues to grow. Ahenkorah told allafrica.com that Golden Baobab has already helped create over 850 stories. She says that over the next 5 years, they may have over 5,000 finished stories. She wants to make Africa&rsquo;s book publishing industry a success. She says:

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&ldquo;We are planning to save parts of those stories for generations to come. This will be important in shaping an African identity. Look at what the African film and music industries are adding to the different economies like Nollywood in Nigeria. We could have an industry of books, games, toys, and characters that come from stories that are made just for African children.&rdquo;

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This is a big dream. But Deborah Ahenkorah and Golden Baobab are working to make it come true. The Golden Baobab blog tells a simple, beautiful picture of hope for the future of children&rsquo;s books in Africa.

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&ldquo;The goal is this picture I have in my head. A picture of a little boy, following his mother through Kumasi market, his hand in hers. And in his free hand, he holds a colourful, exciting book. He is so involved in the book that he simply cannot put it down. This is the experience every child deserves to have. This is what we are fighting to achieve. This is the image I hold on to as I move forward with Golden Baobab. Let&rsquo;s make it happen!&rdquo;

Voice 1&nbsp;

The writer of this program was Liz Waid. The producer was Mark Drenth. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at <a href="http://www.radioenglish.net">www.radioenglish.net</a>. This program is called, &ldquo;African Children&rsquo;s Books.&rdquo;

Voice 2&nbsp;

You can also leave your comments on our website. Or you can email us at <a href="mailto:radio@radioenglish.net">radio@radioenglish.net</a>. You can also find us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/spotlightradio">Facebook</a> - just search for Spotlight Radio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.



Question:
What are your favorite books from when you were a child? Did they reflect your life?


