Meet 15-year-old Stacey Fru, Africa’s youngest award winning author
Stacey Fru is a 15-year-old South African author, child activist, philanthropist, speaker. At the age of 7, she became the youngest award-winning author in Africa.
In 2015, at the age of 7 and without the knowledge of his parents, Stacey published her debut novel Smelly Cats, making her the continent’s youngest published author, according to Independent Online. The book was approved by the South African Department of Basic Education and was given the green light to be used for young learners from Early Childhood to Primary School Education.
‘Smelly Cats’ earned the young author several accolades and both local and international recognition. She won the 2016 NDA Best ECD Publication: Special Mention Category, 2016 Young Leader Award for her leading motivational and inspirational roles, and she also won the Academic Achievements and Initiatives in 2016 for her writings at the East Wave Radio Nelson Mandela International Community Day Leadership Award.
In 2016, Stacey became the youngest founding member of the Wits University Center for Multilingual Education and Literacy. In May 2016, she launched another version of her Smelly Cats, ‘Smelly Cats on Vacation’ and on that same month she launched her foundation – The Stacey Fru Foundation, to empower young people in Africa.
Stacey isn’t only an author but also does find herself in other skills. She writes stories, essays, poems, speeches and songs. She is also a guitarist and a ballerina, a motivational speaker, storyteller, poet, TV talk show host, and a teacher. She has published two books other than her first book; ‘Where is Tammy’ and ‘Tim’s Answer’.
Stacey has been to dozens of TV talk shows and public speaking events, where she speaks about her journey, and inspired others to realize that they’re never too young or too old to chase their dreams. She had her first speech at the age of 8 at the AngloGoldAshanti Career Expo, speaking in front of over 800 Matric learners. By the age of 12, she had given public talks to over 50,000 people in different countries in and out of Africa.
She’s not just an author, she is also a philanthropist who have given so much to the society. Through her foundation, The Stacey Fru Foundation, she has donated items like books, computers, clothing and food to kids and even adults in her home country of South Africa. The 17-year-old also runs free workshops for children in South Africa.
Stacey is the voice of the voiceless. Her ambitions for the growth of the African child is extensive. She has dedicated her life to teach, motivate and encourage others through public talks, writings, and her television projects because she is disappointed that many children cannot read and write by age 9. Her focus is Child Abduction/Kidnapping, Child Trafficking, Safety and Security, Role Modelling.
Excerpt from her foundation’s website
