*Rejected and Written Off
* - a gritty, raw, hopeful and lyrical re-imagining of Michael Rwasunda's life,
*based on a true story
* stared as Kundai in the story.
Born in 1987 under the bruised-purple sky of Hwedza, Zimbabwe, Kundai grows up in a mud-thatched hut where his mother, a nineteen-year-old with a spine of steel, fights drought, poverty and a violent step-father. After a brutal night that forces his mother to flee through a shattered window, Kundai is taken in by a harsh grandmother in Headlands, where he endures endless chores, abuse and a cold, unloving home.
Despite the odds, teachers like Miss Jones and Mr Matsokotere become beacons of hope, helping him escape to Dubi Farm where his mother works as a farmworker. There, he faces another tragedy when his best friend was taken by a flooded river health collapses. Rife kidnapings forced him to part ways with his mother as he headed to Headlands to live with Grandma. A wrongful arrest and a few nights in jail in Rusape only strengthen his faith, and the support of a compassionate, Mrs East, The Priest and a choir give him the courage to carry on when his mother passed away in South Africa.
His raw verses evolve into short stories, eventually catching the eye of a publisher. The book,
Rejected and Written Off_, becomes a testament to survival, the unbreakable bond between mother and son, and the power of storytelling to rewrite destiny.
Now, with his own children carrying the torch, Kundai continues to build a small school in his village, proving that even the darkest nights can give way to a new dawn.
