Folktale Fridays VAWH Productions

The Legend of the Six Unusual Friends is a folktale originally from West Africa. It is a story about six animals that came together on the basis of bringing each one's best abilities and talents to work in partnership to achieve peace and harmony in their community. The story touches on the following UN sustainable development goals- SDG16, which calls governments to "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels", SDG5 which calls for all citizens to work together to "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" and SDG17 which calls for the global community to "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development". The story also provides opportunities for educators and parents to discuss common human values such as fairness, friendship, cooperation, unity, and kindness among others. Little children everywhere will enjoy seeing themselves reflected in the characters of the six unusual friends. For more information on this and more stories, please visit: www.africanfolktalesproject.com

The Legend of the First Female Hunter is a story with roots in Lesotho, possibly first told by the San (Bushmen) tribe of Southern Africa, known for their impeccable hunting and gathering skills and intricate indigenous knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Kalahari desert. It is a tale about the division of labour between men and women, and is tied to the UN SDG 5 that calls for world citizens to unite to "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls". The story inspires not just girls but everyone to participate in the discussion of what knowledge, skills and wisdom that each individual can bring to the table to solve problems that affect everyone. It will encourage teachers and parents to enable children to discover their individual strengths to become active citizens. The story also encourages children to spend more time outdoors learning about the natural environment. For more information about the African indigenous knowledge system, please visit www.africanfolktalesproject.com

The Legend of the First Wild Fire is an imaginative folktale from Nigeria, detailing the events that led to the Sun and the Moon relocating to the skies after having previously lived on Earth. It is a warning tale told mainly to teach children about the dangers of playing with fire. This version has been reimagined to incorporate the warning signs of climate change, and it is aligned with the UN SDG 13 that calls on all world citizens to "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts". Embedded in the story are other positive values such as friendship and the spirit of togetherness, illustrated in the special relationships that the Earth's elements- Wind, Fire, Water- have with the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. This tale is a delight to retell and inspires little world citizens to become conscious eco citizens too.

The Legend of the First Wild Fire is an imaginative folktale from Nigeria, detailing the events that led to the Sun and the Moon relocating to the skies after having previously lived on Earth. It is a warning tale told mainly to teach children about the dangers of playing with fire. This version has been reimagined to incorporate the warning signs of climate change, and it is aligned with the UN SDG 13 that calls on all world citizens to "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts". Embedded in the story are other positive values such as friendship and the spirit of togetherness, illustrated in the special relationships that the Earth's elements- Wind, Fire, Water- have with the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. This tale is a delight to retell and inspires little world citizens to become conscious eco citizens too.

The Legend of the First Rainbow can be traced back to Botswana. It is an embedded narrative in which the folklore of the sighting of the first rainbow is nested in between a secondary narrative, told within a contemporary tale that is shared by a grandmother to her grandchildren. At the end of the story, the children are inspired to take an adventurous trip to the local market where they endeavor to conduct a scientific experiment using local produce in the colours of the rainbow. This story is a great resource for a STEM project, and urges all children to be inquisitive, imaginative and to dream big! It is aligned with the UN SDG4 which aims to "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". The story provides educators with other ways of promoting learning outside the formal classroom experience.

The Legend of the enchanted Forest is a folktale of the Maasai tribe in Kenya. The original version is known as The Lost Child, which is a story about a girl who gets lost inside the mysterious Loita Forest in the Great Rift Valley. It was used as a warning for children to not wander too far into the forest alone. This version reimagines a slightly different message, and challenges children to learn about the biodiversity of the natural landscape around them, and introduces such values as caring, hard work and determination to find solutions to problems affecting our immediate communities. This story is aligned with the UN SDG4, which endeavors to "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" and compliments SDG15, which calls all world citizens to "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss". This story is an ode to the value of indigenous wisdom and traditional knowledge, which we believe needs to be taught in all schools everywhere.