Stacey Fru is a 15-year-old South African author, speaker, and activist for children, philanthropist and speaker. She broke the record for youngest award-winning author in Africa at age 7.
According to Independent Online, Stacey became the youngest published author on the continent when she self-published her first book, Smelly Cats, at the age of 7 and without her parents’ knowledge. The South African Department of Basic Education gave the book the go-ahead for usage with young students from Early Childhood through Primary School Education.
The young author received numerous awards and praise for “Smelly Cats” both locally and abroad.
She won the 2016 Young Leader Award, the 2016 NDA Best ECD Publication: Special Mention Category, and the 2016 Academic Achievements and Initiatives for her writings at the East Wave Radio Nelson Mandela International Community Day Leadership Award. She also received the 2016 Young Leader Award and the 2016 NDA Best ECD Publication: Special Mention Category.
The Wits University Center for Multilingual Education and Literacy welcomed Stacey as its youngest founding member in 2016. The Stacey Fru Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young people in Africa, and another version of her Smelly Cats, “Smelly Cats on Vacation,” were both introduced in May 2016 respectively.
Stacey is a multifaceted person who has talents outside of writing. She also composes music and writes songs, essays, and poems.
She is also a teacher, motivational speaker, storyteller, poet, ballerina, guitarist, and host of a TV chat show. In addition to her debut work, she has also released “Where is Tammy” and “Tim’s Answer.”
Stacey has appeared on scores of TV talk shows and public speaking engagements, where she shares her story and motivates people by demonstrating that they can pursue their aspirations at any age.
At the Anglo-Gold Ashanti Career Expo when she was just eight years old, she gave her first speech in front of over 800 Matric students. By the time she was 12 years old, she had spoken in front of more than 50,000 people in a variety of African and non-African nations.
She has contributed much to society as a philanthropist. She has given food, clothing, books, computers to both adults and children in her native home through her foundation, The Stacey Fru Foundation. Additionally, Stacey offers free workshops to kids in South Africa.
