The 7-year-old Akoma lives with her parents in a small town near Hamburg. In Twi, a language spoken in Ghana, Akoma means heart. Often, Akoma's father tells her, With your Akoma, the world is open to you. However, Akoma's big heart reaches its limits when strangers touch her hair without asking.

Autorentext
Dayan Kodua is an actress, voice artist, author, and founder of Gratitude Verlag. She was born in Ghana in 1980 and grew up in Kiel, Germany, from the age of ten. German became her second native language alongside her Akan language, Twi, and she also learned English. She first trained as a business assistant before studying acting in Berlin and Los Angeles. Following a highly successful and diverse career as an actress, voice artist, and model, she has passionately dedicated herself to empowering and increasing the visibility of Black people. In 2014, she published the photo book My Black Skin: Schwarz. Erfolgreich. Deutsch and created a traveling exhibition and workshops to accompany it. A key focus of her work is helping children discover their inner strength. Through her picture books, such as Odo and Wenn meine Haare sprechen könnten (If My Hair Could Speak), she inspires children to recognize and embrace their own power. In 2019, she founded Gratitude Verlag to support authors and share diverse stories with the public. She is also actively involved in various charity projects, including the organization Licht für die Welt e.V. Deutschland. Dayan Kodua lives in Hamburg with her family.