English Completer, Favour publishes her own lockdown survivors’ story as a book

14-year-old English enthusiast and Kumon English programme Completer, Favour B-Wilson from Aberdeen, has written and published a non-fiction book, titled ‘A Teenager in Lockdown - A Survivor’s Story’ to inspire and help others through the latest Covid-19 lockdown.

It’s been an exciting time for Favour and her parents, who told us; “We’ve received a positive response and global attention since the online book launch, many people attended the event including the former president of Nigeria, H.E Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan - GCFR, GCON (2010-2015), UN ambassadors from America, Professors from the academia, members of the diplomatic corps and many others, all endorsed the book. Many of our friends, UK public libraries and Favour’s friends have purchased the book, we know people who have bought bulk orders too to distribute to their constituencies to ensure more people can benefit from her experience.”

Having studied with Kumon since the age of five, Favour’s passion for books and developing her own writing style has progressed, and in 2020 she was inspired to write about her own experiences of the global pandemic and how that was affecting her and her peers.

Favour said, “Kumon English helped me to grasp and understand topic subjects with ease and master my reading and writing ability, so much so, it became a significant factor that inspired me to begin writing the non-fiction book titled ‘A Teenager In Lockdown - A Survivor’s Story’ during the first lockdown in Summer 2020." Favour was motivated to write a book about her lockdown survival journey, to positively encourage and help the reader to utilise their free time well. The book conveys key messages for younger children, teenagers and adults too. 
 
Favour shared some of the key messages to surviving lockdown with us, 

• “The importance of searching for new things to do as a family, like going for a walk, baking and reading.
• Lockdown has provided positive outcomes like the opportunity for better family time together.
• It explains the importance of showing one’s appreciation to the NHS by doing small, positive things in the local community.
• How Covid-19 has changed the routine and meant we’ve all adopted new habits in all age groups in society, including young people. 
• Although I compared lockdown to an invisible monster that disrupted normal life, I emphasise that together we can certainly beat COVID-19 by improving our overall wellbeing.”

 
After discovering Kumon through a friend’s recommendation, Favour’s parents Wilson and Lydia, enrolled her at the Kumon Aberdeen Study Centre. Although Favour never found maths or English difficult, her parents wanted her to benefit from a head start in her studies. Favour shared her early Kumon experiences with us and said, “I joined Kumon to specifically develop my English ability, I have always had a passion for learning and try my best in everything that I do. Joining Kumon was overwhelming at first, but it was a good experience, I was excited to join the centre and learn new things.” 
 
Kumon nurtures students by giving them the tools they need to enjoy learning and thrive academically, which increases their enjoyment across a wide range of subjects at school, alongside preparing them for personal and professional success later in life. Favour told us about how Kumon helped her in school, she said, “The programme introduced several topics before they were introduced in school, this gave me a good head start and background knowledge of the topic that enabled me to do well in the subject and achieve great results in exams. Overall, Kumon made my school life a lot easier and provided an understanding of what I needed to do next within a subject topic.”
 
Aside from academic progression, Kumon enabled Favour to develop life skills too, she says, “Kumon helped me in many ways, from talking to my peers and younger students in the centre that unknowingly developed my communication and confidence. While completing my Kumon daily improved my time management skills. I would often compete against my younger brother, who was studying the Kumon English Programme at the time to move onto a higher level before him. The skills developed from Kumon will stay with me for the rest of my life.” 

 
The Kumon English Programme complements learning across all subjects at school, giving students the freedom to become advanced, independent and enthusiastic learners, as well as thoughtful, creative individuals, like Favour, who shared with us her inspiration and motives behind writing her book. 

“The inspiration to write a book was also my love for reading, I have always loved reading, my bedroom is a mini library and I’ve recently read a great novel titled ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Mallory Blackman. Like reading, I’ve always enjoyed writing too. I used to write short stories and draw illustrative images to accompany the story when I was younger, but this is my first publication.”

With some glowing reviews about the book on Amazon adding to the recent acclaim, Favour’s parents are of course thrilled by their daughter’s dedication and commitment; “We are extremely proud of Favour’s achievements, for not only completing the Kumon English Programme at the age of 10 but also for publishing her book too, at 14 years old.” 
 
Equipped with a love of English, strong academic skills and self-confidence, Favour looks forward to continuing with her education in S3 (the third year of Scottish schooling equivalent to Year 10 in England and Wales). Contemplating her future aspirations, she told us, “In the future, I would like to consider studying English to a higher level and enter a profession where I can help and support people. I can confidently say that Kumon has laid strong personal and academic foundations that will open many doors in my future career.” 
 
Congratulations Favour! We’re certain you’ll continue to excel in your studies and strive to achieve all goals and aspirations.