The Hosts
Chanju Mwanza
Chibesa Nkonde Swere
My name is Chanju. I’m passionate about inspiring children and young people to be confident in their identities, flourish in self-love, and be proud of who they are.
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It takes a village to raise a child, and I am proud to be the auntie of many. And in this valuable role, it breaks my heart when I see a beautiful child questioning why they’re not represented in their books, toys or tv shows, asking why they can’t have ‘yellow hair’ or a different skin colour. My mission is to make sure every child knows their value, their beauty and their worth.
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Through bringing up Black joy, I want to create a space of learning so we can all share our individual experiences, challenges and solutions and raise powerful children who aren’t afraid to be unapologetic about their identity.
It take a village to raise a child. Bringing up Black joy is part of that village.
My name is Chibesa. I’m a woman trying to navigate life with positivity. As a mother of two girls, bringing up Black joy was birthed as a result of daily reflection and journaling. This is a personal journey.
As a black mother I encountered and have been confronted by barriers of race from the time I was pregnant.
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Raising a child is beautiful, it’s a time that I have found myself constantly growing and re-parenting myself. However, I have also had some real challenges. The fact that my child is a minority she notices her environment. She is constantly looking for representation in her books, cartoons... I’m sure every child does feel overwhelmed when they enter new spaces but a child should never question if they will fit in just because of the colour of their skin!
Bringing up Black joy is a platform to celebrate and uplift Black Children.
