She successfully developed an exciting, creative, and fun children’s book with an educational aspect. With the first book off to a successful start, Sasha tells us that the second book, which is due for release later this year, will focus on counting and dealing with everyday situations, such as bullying.
“I have always had a passion for education and giving back. I find it so important for everyone to have access to equal education opportunities. However, I noticed that there were many children, even young adults, who were illiterate, and that is how the “Learn to Read, Learn to Lead” idea was born. The name represents the young children of today, becoming leaders of the future. This project is a way of connecting both my passion for giving back along with education. The second book tackles a more personal issue, which I believe needs to be addressed more in-depth – Bullying. It’s reported that as many as 57% of South African learners have been bullied at some time during their high-school careers. This is something I believe needs to be brought to light and through education, we can help those learners not only overcome these hardships but also potentially stop the act of bullying in its entirety.” – Sasha-Lee Taylor
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Sasha-Lee Taylor (23) is a Model, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, and Author, who completed her degree in Social Sciences, majoring in Marketing and Psychology at Monash University.
So how has writing an Educational Children’s Book impacted Sasha-Lee’s life? She openly shares 5 things she’s learned since writing her book, “Learn to Read, Learn to Lead”.
1. Things won’t always be easy. I realized that sometimes things will become difficult and you will be faced with challenges that will test you but you just have to embrace them and push through it. Challenges make you stronger as a person!
2. Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. During, and even after my first book was published, I was constantly put in situations that took me out of my comfort zone but looking back I realized how much I grew as a person in those situations- it’s okay to step outside your comfort zone, one day you will be grateful for doing it.
3. Preparation is key! I learned that this applies to anything in life, how you prepare will determine the outcomes of the tasks being done. Also, through writing this book, I was able to tap into a creative side I never knew I had. I had to put myself in the shoes of a young child and look at the preparation as if I was a child reading the book and made changes based on what I thought they would need.
4. What you put in is what you get out. I have always believed that whatever I do, I need to do it to the best of my ability, but writing a book just emphasized this even more for me. If you put in the hard work, late nights, time, and dedication you will reap the rewards at the end of the day and I realized how rewarding this whole process is from the first moment I saw my book on the shelves in the book stores.
5. Writing a book also made me triple check my spelling and grammar a whole lot more! There were quite a few times I questioned myself and had to refer back to the good old dictionary to help me out, but it was worth it!
In 2018 Sasha-Lee received the Young Leader in Philanthropy Award which was given to her by the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, at the National Youth Summit. The award is aimed at recognising a “Nelson Mandela in every generation”. It recognises an individual that is doing “good work” for their community and giving back.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sasha-Lee!
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