About Me
My Mission
Kunaka Kids is rooted in my belief that by playing with black dolls and reading stories about black characters, black children will see themselves, their beauty, their strength and their potential, and all children will learn and appreciate the diversity of all cultures.
My Values
Beauty: redefining beauty to include all shades of black skin. Our children instinctively know that we are all beautiful, so let us encourage them to celebrate our differences as they play.
Empowerment: instilling cultural pride in black children promotes a healthy self-esteem. This also empowers all our children to succeed in life and to be respectful for other cultures.
My Story
Hello, I'm Monica, a mother of 2 young children. I have always had a strong sense of my identity as a black African woman, so I was quite surprised when my then 4-year-old daughter came home from nursery crying because her skin isn’t as fair and her hair isn’t as silky or straight, as her classmates. That day, I realised that it is not enough to just tell my daughter that all children are beautiful. That black children are beautiful and smart too. That she is beautiful... I would have to show her that it’s true.
I looked around for black dolls and story books with black characters or about black culture, but I soon realised that they are not available in my local kids’ stores. I was surprised by how hard it was to find them even online!
Kunaka Kids (‘kunaka’ means beauty in my native Shona language) was borne out of the frustration from endless hours spent online searching for the perfect dolls and books for my children. Now you can find it all on one website. A place where all our children can celebrate our diversity and cultures. A place where I can show my daughter that black is beautiful too.