Shujaaz: More than just a comic book
A free comic distributed with one of Kenya’s national newspapers is educating millions of youngsters every month about life, but without lecturing them on how to live.
Shujaaz (meaning "heros" in "sheng," a constantly evolving Kenyan urban slang that mixes English with Swahili and other languages) was launched early last year by Well Told Story, a media production company with a social agenda based in Nairobi.
Earlier this year Shujaaz won a prestigious One World Media Award and continues to go from strength to strength.
A large part of its success can be attributed to the young Kenyan artists who illustrate the comic book, creating cool characters that the mostly teenaged and slightly older readers want to identify with.
Embedded in the fun of each issue are a series of messages that the producers are careful to ensure education with dictating.
The other innovation that makes Shujaaz different is that it exists across platforms. Its foundation is the hard copy comic, but it is also an FM radio station and exists on social media and the internet.
To learn more about this great project check out this short film:
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