In this edition of the Writers Space Africa Magazine, we bring you an amazing mother, teacher, and Children’s book author who is passionate about impacting children’s life for the better through her books. Join me, Blessing Peter Titus (PPBlessing), as I have a chat with Corona Cermak, the beautiful Tanzanian who currently resides in the Czech Republic.
PPBlessing: Thank you so much for honouring our invitation, can you tell us who Corona is?
CC: Corona Cermak is a children books writer, a kindergarten teacher and Swahili language advocate. She is also a mother of three.
PPBlessing: You have an interesting name. How have you felt from the time of this ravaging pandemic till now about your name?
CC: Self-love is very important to me. I love my name and I love how it makes me feel. Corona means Crowns and the ring around the sun. What came after that is just an extra information. Corona Virus is a situation that I chose not to define me. I was baptised Corona because I was born on the 14 of May and that’s when we celebrated saint Corona. Otherwise, my African name is Mkasafari which means a person who travels. I travel with my names which Crown me with a lot of blessings in my life.
Receiving the Award from
AFRICAN WOMEN IN EUROPE 2019 in the Netherlands
PPBlessing: Beautiful. Does being a Swahili language advocate mean your stories are written in Swahili?
CC: Yes, I have them in Swahili and English
PPBlessing: When did you begin writing and why?
CC: I began writing as a teenager but I seriously started writing when I had my first child in 2013. The reason behind it is that my husband and I decided to teach our children Czech and Swahili languages and because there were not enough resources for Swahili, I decided to write my own stories for my children.
PPBlessing: Wonderful. It’s great that you are pushing these African languages out there and teaching your children as well.
CC: I think it is very important for children who have parents from different backgrounds to know their parents’ languages. Through these languages they discover themselves better and they are not strangers in their own cultures.
PPBlessing: You mentioned earlier that you are a teacher, what do you teach?
CC: I teach children English in the kindergarten, and adults, Swahili at Masaryk University here in Brno. I also teach Swahili online. CoolSwahili is my online school.
PPBlessing: What influences your writing the most? What’s your motivation?
CC: My children, Tanzanian child, and African child. I want them to know, to love and to learn what surrounds them. I want the African child to love herself and himself. To be able to stand tall and know what power they have because they know themselves better.
PPBlessing: Beautiful. Have you been able to achieve this?
CC: I am still in the process. With my children, I will say Yes. Through the story I have published recently Grandma Pipi and the Roses, I have managed to help my children know that it does not matter what colour one has. All what matters is that we share love and a lot of things among us as Humans.
Celebrating the International Children’s Day on the 1st of June at Safirka Kindergarten.
PPBlessing: How many books have you published so far and how can one access them?
CC: I have so far published 2 books, but they are 4 because they are in English and Swahili.
- Grandma Pipi and the Roses.
- Bibi Pipi na Maua waridi.
- Rooster’s Voice
- Sauti ya Jogoo.
All my books are available on all Amazon UK, USA, China, Japan, Germany etc, and on Lantern books. Just put my name Corona Cermak and the title of the book. Note! Only Bibi Pipi na Maua Waridi book is not available on Amazon at the moment. The other books are also on Kindle (both on Amazon and smashwords Webpage), or one can borrow at a very cheap price from Lantern Webpage
PPBlessing: Thank you. Let’s step back a little bit, why did you choose to be a teacher?
CC: Teaching chose me. I had to teach because that was the job I first got when I arrived in the Czech Republic. The first day at work, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Because;
- I had a child, so I needed to know how Czech people raise their children.
- I wanted to learn Czech language in a very simple way, from children.
- I just enjoyed playing and talking to children.
PPBlessing: Oh… Interesting. So what profession were you in before this?
CC: I did law, British law. Which is of no use in Czech Republic.
PPBlessing: Okay. What will you tell a newbie who wants to be a children’s book writer?
CC: Start now. Start where you are. Start with what you have. Write what you think and with time, you will see how the story develops. Read a lot of stories which might be similar to what you want to write. Do your research well and know what you want. Ask people and be informed.
At the launch of Rooster’s Voice at Safirka Kindergarten in Brno, Czech Republic in 2018. In the audience are Corona’s students and their parents.
PPBlessing: Thank you. Any tips on publishing?
CC: If you are first timer, go for self-publishing first, Amazon, Lulu, and many more platforms are available for this. It’s difficult to publish your work with a publishing house. They take quite a long time. Unless you are super good or your family member owns a publishing house. Otherwise keep on writing because you will never know which story will be a big talk of the world.
PPBlessing: Have you won any awards?
CC: Yes, I was awarded Writer of the year 2019 by African Women in Europe (AWE) for my books; Rooster’s Voice and Sauti ya Jogoo.
PPBlessing: Do you have works published elsewhere aside your two books? If yes, where?
CC: Yes. My story Baby Caterpillar was published in the February 2022 Edition of the Writers Space Africa Magazine under the Children’s literature section. I have two stories with Longhorn; Seed the Traveller and Mbegu Msafiri which I am hoping will be out soon this year. Bibi Pipi na Maua Waridi has been published by CrownBird Publishers, an independent publishing company in London. I also have stories on my YouTube channel (Corona Cermak).
PPBlessing: Thank you so much for your time, it was wonderful chatting with you. Any concluding words as we wrap up the interview?
CC: Thank you and well done to you. Having a baby and trying to make ends meet is always not easy. We need more African writers for our children. We need more books written by Africans so that our children can find themselves in those stories through characters, environment, or situation described. Let us keep on writing.
This brings us to the end of our interview for this month, join us again next month as we bring you another interesting author. Thank you and keep reading the Writers Space Africa Magazine.
Read – Nathaniel Z Mpofu – Multi-Award-Winning Zimbabwean Author
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