We are so excited to welcome Secret or Surprise as our newest Rafiki Mwema Business Buddy.
This incredible Australian family team is donating $1 from every book sold to support Rafiki Mwema’s work protecting and healing children in Kenya. That means every purchase becomes a double-action: helping children learn body safety and consent, while also helping fund therapeutic care and safe restoration for survivors. That’s the kind of ripple effect we love.
Buy the book
A mother and daughters mission, built from lived experience
Secret or Surprise is led by a mother and her two daughters, who have made a heartfelt commitment to educating and empowering children to be safe against the threat of child sexual abuse.
Through their own personal experience, they knew they wanted to create something that could help families have important conversations in a way that felt safe, accessible, and child-friendly.
The result is a beautifully illustrated children’s story told through a conversation between a mother and child, featuring Australian native animals. The team believes that important, sometimes heavy topics can be shared effectively through animals children connect with, in a way that feels less confronting.
One of the daughters, Kayla, brought the story to life visually, creating the characters and illustrating the book.
What Secret or Surprise teaches children
This book is designed to help children understand:
- the difference between a safe and unsafe person
- how to say NO to unsafe touch
- how to recognise abuse and understand that it’s never their fault
- the difference between an unsafe secret and a safe surprise
- that they should ALWAYS tell a safe adult if something feels wrong, scary, or they are told to keep a secret
- and most importantly: abuse is NEVER the child’s fault
They self-published Secret or Surprise because they felt strongly about getting it into families’ hands as soon as possible to begin its important work.
Values that sit at the heart of their work
When we asked what drives their business, their answer was clear and powerful:
- Every child deserves to be safe
- Education is key to creating change
- Honesty and integrity
- Supporting others in achieving goals related to child health and safety
We couldn’t have said it better.
How they found Rafiki Mwema and why they joined
Secret or Surprise first heard about Rafiki Mwema through Constance Hall on Facebook, and felt immediately drawn to the mission.
Their “why” for becoming Business Buddies comes from a deep alignment in purpose:
Our purposes are aligned in the commitment to protecting, educating and helping children. We admire and respect what Rafiki Mwema are achieving and would like to help raise funds for your work.
While their mission began with protecting children in Australia, they quickly realised that child sexual abuse is a global issue. Through social media, the book began reaching families beyond Australia, reinforcing just how universal the need for prevention and education is.
Their connection is also personal, and comes from lived experience in their own family. They shared that this is part of what makes supporting Rafiki Mwema feel so meaningful.
Why Rafiki Mwema?
Their reply hit us right in the heart:
Ideally the goal of all of us involved is to prevent this happening to any children at all, but when it does, children need belief and support… and it seems to us that Rafiki Mwema is doing all of that.
They chose to support us because they believe in the combination of prevention and healing, and because they recognise the importance of therapeutic support, safety, and nurturing after harm has occurred.
$1 from every book sold (and impact that multiplies)
Secret or Surprise is donating $1 from every book sold to Rafiki Mwema, and also donating to another aligned organisation, the Grace Tame Foundation.
They love that when a parent, educator, or protective adult purchases the book, they’re doing two meaningful things at once:
- Educating and empowering children with body safety and consent tools
- Supporting organisations working to protect and heal children
Being part of the Rafiki Mwema village
We asked what it means to be part of the Rafiki Mwema “village,” and their response was beautiful:
It’s a commitment to the most important job in the world. Helping children to live a life of safety and love.
A message to other businesses thinking of joining
Secret or Surprise‘s encouragement to other business owners was straight from the heart:
I can’t think of anything more important than donating to such an important cause where the change that it might bring will be life changing to so many children.
If you’re a business owner wondering how to start, we agree with them. If you do too, the first step is simply to complete the Business Buddies application.
Support them, and you support our kids too
If you’d like to learn more about this powerful book or purchase a copy, visit:
Secret or Surprise: https://www.secretorsurprise.com.au/
Every book sold helps grow a safer world for children, and helps strengthen therapeutic support for children in Kenya through Rafiki Mwema.
Welcome to the village, Secret or Surprise. We’re so grateful you’re here.
