Onesmus Embula
WINDHOEK – Elise Shinedima is a dynamic young woman raised within a family of eight by very formidable parents who installed in her strong values and morals that shaped her into the woman she is today.
Growing up in Windhoek, Shinedima who is currently a final-year student at the University of Namibia (Unam) says her childhood was very colourful and excitingly filled with many adventures, from learning how to ride a bicycle in the streets of Katutura to playing mentor to her childhood friends. Little did she know that a gift was dormant in her. “I completed matric at Dawid Bezuidenout High school, and my experiences in high school are what birthed my first book titled What you seek is within you and that was the beginning of my writing journey,” says Shinedima.
She strongly believes that mindset is everything. “What you believe and say about yourself shall become.” She adds that a belief system has the ability to ignite a flame within oneself to pursue what one is passionate about or to break what one has been created to do. “I have extraordinary aspirations and that motivates me daily to push myself and abandon my comfort zone. I’m also motivated by the fact that success is a very uncomfortable procedure and therefore I keep it moving no matter the challenges.”
Apart from being a gifted speaker, Shinedima flourishes with the innate ability to transform and interpret life experiences, observations and life lessons into words that ultimately become a story that has the power to transform and impact the next person’s life, as well as her/his perspective about certain things in general.
Give Me Another Day, Shinedima’s second book, is about a plot regarding the life and struggles of a young black male, Natangwe (the protagonist) who is caught between the search for his own identity, and pleasing his mother (in the absence of strong male role models) where he harbours feelings of disappointment if not hatred for his father, an abusive husband who abandoned his family when Natangwe was still a small boy. “The story is customarily written for everyone who loves to read and the book title intends to serve as inspiration to those who do not believe that there is another day,” she says. “Another day to explore, to live and to become much more than we believe.”
She is jubilant that Namibian youth are overflowing with so much potential, hence cautioning youngsters to be deliberate at making decisions to become the best version of themselves in transforming their lives for the better, and for a better cause. “Being at the bottom builds character, and as I prefer to say every challenge you encounter is to propel and prepare you for the next level, so never undermine small beginnings because hard work and perseverance determine your outcomes,” she encourages.
Her inspirational book Give Me Another Day is available at Uncle Spikes book shop for N$179.99 and on amazon.com. Interested individuals can also order the book via email at elisetujenikelao@gmail.com.