Former art teacher releases an educational comic book

A Maun based artist who hails from Kareng in the Ngamiland district has published an educational comic book called ‘Laugh and Learn with Charlie on the other side of life’. Time Out had an exclusive interview with the artist, Charles Kakomee.

 
The ever smiling Kakomee said the book was ready for whoever wants it, adding that it was designed for adolescents and the youth as its main theme is centered on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH). “This educational comic book is a tool designed to help raise awareness on issues relating to SRH in particular HIV/AIDS. The book is humorous, informative and has simplified complex content,” said Kakomee.

 
Kakomee is a teacher by training and by virtue of that, he said, he knows firsthand challenges pertaining to information dissemination that is why he chose something different like cartoons as they are attractive and add humor.

 
“Nowadays people are lazy to read and react better to visually stimulating material. Animation is a more effective means of getting messages across,” he said.
Kakomee highlighted that his book can be used as supplementary teaching material in schools especially for subjects like Guidance and Counseling. He believes it could ease the burden of learning for children as it was created to be age appropriate and user friendly.

 
His future plan is to translate the book into as many languages as possible. “The target is also to break the language barrier in the HIV/AIDS pandemic and this means looking beyond our borders as we live in a global village as we have the same problem,” he said, indicating that for now he will start with neighbouring countries being Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

 
He expressed confidence in the relevance of the book since orders came in before it was even printed. His customers include the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and individuals.