OUR LITTLE SUPERKID

His parents are well-known, now Prince Mashawana is making a name for himself with his superhero alter ego

- BONOLO SEKUDU

‘I just want every child to know they are not alone’

SUPER­ HEROES come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: they help make people’s lives better in some way or another.

SuperMash is no different. This purple­ and­orange caped crusader is determined to do something good – he wants to inspire children across Mzansi.

His overall mission is to unlock confi­dence and kindness in kids and, more recently, to help them be safe from Covid­19.

The Gauteng department of health roped in SuperMash to encourage kids to wash their hands properly to beat the dreaded coronavirus.

And he’s doing so well he’s even creat­ed a brand of sanitiser to encourage constant cleanliness.

So, who is this pint­sized power­ house?

The little boy behind SuperMash is Prince Mashawana and he’s just seven years old.

By day Prince is just a regular boy who loves playing video games, watching cartoons and listening to music. But when he becomes SuperMash, he’s on a mission to help other kids know they aren’t powerless.

Topping the list of evils he tackles is bullying, and this is the cen­tral message of the comic books Prince has created.

The comic was launched in November last year and has already won him plenty of fans, which is why he’s been asked to help spread the message to fight the corona­ virus.

“I want to lead by example by showing kids they are not the only ones going through difficult challenges or that the world isn’t against them,” he says.