Actor and model Refilwe Modiselle is touring South African schools with her children's book Zizi's World, combining literacy sessions with albinism awareness.
A children's book can travel far. Refilwe Modiselle, a South African model, actor, and person with albinism, is currently taking her book Zizi's World into classrooms across the country, pairing reading sessions with conversations about albinism.
Glamour South Africa reported on the tour, which places Modiselle directly in front of school-age children. The book follows Zizi, a character with albinism, through everyday life — an approach that puts representation on the page rather than in the footnotes.
Modiselle has spoken publicly about growing up with albinism in South Africa, where misconceptions about the condition remain common. The school tour, according to Glamour South Africa, is designed to reach children at the age when those misconceptions form — or can be corrected.
The format is straightforward: Modiselle visits a school, reads with the children, and opens the floor to questions. The combination of a familiar public figure and a story with a character who looks like some of the children in the room creates a different kind of lesson than a formal curriculum might.
Zizi's World was published with both literacy and visibility in mind. Glamour South Africa noted that the book is aimed at young readers and written to be accessible to early-grade classrooms. For many children, it may be the first time they encounter a main character with albinism.
South Africa has a growing number of voices with albinism working in media and public life. Modiselle is among the most prominent. Her presence in schools adds a layer that the book alone cannot: a living, working adult with albinism, answering questions in person.
The tour continues across multiple provinces, according to Glamour South Africa.
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