Briannah Mupaya (15) from Brenthurst, who wrote the children’s book Brakpan Broom, is now working on her second book in the series: Brakpan Baboon.
The second instalment is a continuation of the Brakpan Broom book, which aimed to create pride among children in the state of the town.
The new book aims to create pride in the wildlife of the town and animal welfare. A secondary goal of these children’s books is to appeal to the children’s sense of identity as residents of Brakpan.
“I want them to see themselves in the story, and be more likely to read it because they can see themselves in it,” explained Briannah.
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Briannah also wants to explore social media as a form of activism, after having recently posted a video “skit” on TikTok that went viral.
In the video, an actor is littering and when Briannah, from behind the camera, acts out confronting him, the actor pulls out a prop knife and threatens her.
The caption on the video reads: “South Africa is a very dangerous place, almost got stabbed for stopping littering.”
She is currently working on a longer-form mini-documentary for YouTube about the town’s history, and what the town could be again if the community put in the effort.
On top of writing books, making videos to create awareness on various topics, and studying computer science and fashion design online, Briannah also hopes to start several projects in town to refresh infrastructure and create community spaces.
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She’s currently working on a proposal to turn the concrete area behind the Shoprite in Brakpan Central into basketball courts for the youth. She also hopes to turn another empty and abandoned lot into a community garden.
As a fundraising effort, Briannah wants to make caps like the ‘Make America Great Again’ caps worn by US President Donald Trump supporters, but which say ‘Make Brakpan Great Again’.
Briannah is currently self-published but would love to sign with a publisher, so she can exert more positive influence on the community and to a broader audience.
“Brakpan has a lot to be worked on, and we need support to fix things. It used to be such a lovely place, and I want to be part of bringing that back,” she said.
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