I am very grateful to Cedric Palerme and Guillaume Nery from the CIPA freediving club in Nice for helping me get copies of the French-English edition ” Wayan et le roi tortue/ Wayan and the Turtle King” to a school in Moorea, Polynesia. I was extremely nervous and shy to ask such a big favour, but I thought that the worst-case scenario would be a “No”.
I love it when I step outside of my boundaries and trust people I don’t know well. So far, I’ve been very lucky and have always been rewarded by good results.
I believe that despite all the political and religious differences there are in the world these days, we are all bound together by environmental problems like plastic pollution and the changes that extreme weather have brought about. Bearing this in mind, my belief in the human race is fortified by these occasions when my trust pays off.
If we all focus on solving the plastic pollution problem as a united group, in addition to individual actions, we stand a chance of turning things around for the better for future generations.
Last year, I sent copies of the French-English edition of Wayan to Boky Mamiko.
Since then, the project turned towards creating a French-Malagasy edition.
For starters, I’ve printed and sent Boky Mamiko 20 copies, because my whole philosophy is to print what is required, so as to prevent books getting wet, mouldy etc.
I’m very happy to say that the Malagasy only version is available for free on African Storybook for other speakers and NGOs to access, print or use online as required.
Thank you to Aina from Boky for translating, and thank you to Maxim Iskander & Tiana (Club d’Apnée Sportive de Québec – CASQ ) for introducing me to Myriam, our proofreader.
Finally, thank you Rossana for caring so much about the literacy and education of kids in Madagascar.
My review copy of the French-Malagsy version of “Wayan and the Turtle King” arrived today. It is titled << Wayan et le roi tortue : Wayan sy ilay Mpanjaka Sokatra >>.
The Malagasy-only version is available on www.africanstorybook.org for FREE use, download and printing (and reading of course!). The bilingual version has activities and a world list to encourage reading skills, as well as critical and creative thinking skills.
After I checked this copy, I ordered the first batch of 20 to be sent to @bokymamiko. Last year, I sent their project the French-English version.
Thanks to Aina and Boky Mamiko for translating the work into Malagasy. Thanks to Maxim’s wife for putting me in touch with a native speaking proof reader.
It’s so important to me to NOT simply cater to the big languages, but to build a bridge between mother tongue and second language speakers for easier acquisition.
This project has been going on behind the scenes for such a long time: longer than my Kickstarter, longer than it took for any other translations to be created.
I really feel like this is a milestone.
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
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A year ago, I put the English and isiZulu versions of “Wayan and the Turtle King” on africanstorybook.org – a free, opensource platform. Anyone can download and print the stories for FREE. Or, you can simply read the stories online. Anyone can add a new translation of a story.
Recently, African Storybook published an amended version of my story, “Wayan and the Turtles” as an ASB approved title.
Please check out the other translations currently available on their site:
Amharic: ” ዋያን እና የእንቁራሪቶቹ ንጉሥ “, translated by Mezemir Girma.
Kiswahili: “Wayan na kasa”, translated by Ursula Nafula.
Malagasy: ” Wayan sy ilay Mpanjaka Sokatra”, translated by Aina Harvel – Randrenjatovo.
The path that has opened up for my literacy project as a result of the Africanstorybook Project excites me. It is a wonderful feeling to be part of a collaboration, where people work together, spurred on by their passion for literacy and equality in education.
I hope that many children will be able to enjoy the story, as well as be able to educate themselves and their communities about single-use plastic.
Thank you to all the funding support partners who made it possible.
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
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I did a lovely interview with Anne Sophie Passalboni from Zitelllina Kids’ Magazine in Ajaccio, Corsica, about Wayan and the Turtle King . Please click on the image below to download the French article.
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
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In May 2019, Diana put Rossanna and the team from Boky Mamiko in touch with me. Since then, I’ve donated copies of the French-English book, <<Wayan et le roi tortue : Wayan and the Turtle King >> to the NGO to use in their school libraries in Madagascar.
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________

Wayan and the Turtle King – Christine Figgener
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
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The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________

Wayan and the Turtle King – Gili Shark Conservation
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
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Wayan and the Turtle King – Sup Kids
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________
The success of my project depends on book sales. ALL my profit goes back into developing the project, printing and donating copies of the book to literacy and eco-NGOs worldwide. If you would like to support my project, please buy the book online.
________

Wayan and the Turtle King – Deeper Blue