00:00:00 IGIHE NETWORK KINYARWANDA ENGLISH FRANCAIS

Rwanda sees her first Fairy Tale published

By Olga Ishimwe
On 20 June 2018 at 01:23

Although fairy tales may simply seem like stories for children, they hold much more cultural significance than we give them credit for. Fairy tales reflect the beliefs of a people, their moral values and often their incredible imagination. Rwandans are no strangers to fairy tales, and ’Ysolde and Her Magical Shoes’ has seen the light as the first Rwandan fairy tale.

‘Ysolde and Her Magical Shoes’ is a fairy tale that takes the reader on the journey of a little girl whose courage and big heart saves her village. At a young age, Ysolde is entrusted with a big responsibility of feeding her whole village, a task which gets harder with the absence of her mother. Things take a bad turn as a villain who lived in their village was sent away, cursing the village in her leave. Luckily, Ysolde saves the day with her magical shoes.

Authored by Dominique Uwase Alonga, this fairy tale was inspired by the amazing story of Ysolde Shimwe, a talented Rwandan entrepreneur who co-founded with Kevine Kagirimpundu, UZURI K&Y Designs, a Rwandan Fashion brand making handcrafted women and men’s shoes; ‘Ysolde and Her Magical Shoes’ is a fairy tale that portrays courage, creativity and a joyful personality--- all traits of the talented entrepreneur.

"It feels like having your heart exposed to the public. It’s pretty amazing having my story going out there and being read by the world. I am nervous. I hope they see the love and hard work that I put in this story and I hope that we deliver to the hype. " Dominique Uwase Alonga told IGIHE.

Dominique Uwase Alonga who’s also the CEO of Imagine We Rwanda expressed her wishes to have the first family of Rwanda support and encourage the works of young creative minds.

“My dream is for Rwandans to see that we also can have fun stories and travel magical worlds. We also can have courageous princesses and heroines. We do not have to always read Cinderella when we can read Ysolde. I hope this book will encourage little girls in Rwanda. I hope parents will also enjoy this book and I hope Rwandans will join together and make sure this book gets read by all children in Rwanda but also beyond. Let’s take this beautiful fairytale all over the world!” Dominique gushed

Published by ‘Imagine We’ an African Publishing house producing books for children and young adults representing Rwanda and cultures from the region; ‘Ysolde and Her Magical Shoes’ is now available in bookshops around Kigali like Ikirezi Bookshop, Charisma bookshop and Uzuri K&Y.

“We believe that there’s power in stories, power to inspire young children and power to teach valuable lessons about life through fairy tales. Fairy tales teach young children about courage, hope, love and kindness which are the most important lessons to learn at such a young age. We live in a world where our children need to constantly be reminded of their self-worth and potential.” Said Malika Helene, Imagine We’s Communication & Public relations officer.

“We want to challenge the current representation of our country, and continent in general, through our stories. Our hope is to get this book in the hands of as many young girls as we can, and we would like to invite you all in this journey. Get a copy for your daughter, for your niece, your cousin, your neighbours’ daughter, or buy a copy for any young girl in your community. Help us get this book in every corner of the world.”

Authored by Dominique Uwase Alonga, ‘Ysolde and Her Magical Shoes’ is a fairy tale that portrays courage, creativity and a joyful personality

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