15-05-2025
Join Kihaan Kylas on his exciting YouTube adventure in China
Kihaan Kylas.
Image: Supplied
Eight-year-old Kihaan Kylas, with his mother Kashmira, have embarked on a YouTube adventure, sharing their experiences as a South African Indian family living in China. The YouTube channel is called SouthAfricanIndianBoyInChina.
Kihaan and his family, who are formerly from Durban, moved to China in 2023. Kashmira's mother, Nirupa Dayaram, joined them.
The Grade 2 pupil no longer attends formal school but is homeschooled. This has left him with extra time to make fun videos.
Kashmira and her husband, Dhiren, are both ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. They teach English to pupils whose first language is not English.
The couple decided to move to China in search of better opportunities. Kashmira was a property administrator at Maxprop and Dhiren was the Durban regional manager for Hisense.
'Back home, we faced financial difficulties and I just had my second baby Mihaar (aged 2), so moving to China gave us a chance to rebuild, grow and provide a more stable life for our little family. It was not an easy decision but it was one filled with hope to give our children a better future,' said Kashmira.
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The family lives in Hainan province, an island, and Kihaan decided to show the rest of the world his daily life as an 8-year-old Indian.
'My son started this channel to share his unique story with the world. As a South African Indian kid living in China, his little life has been filled with interesting experiences that some people never get to see.
'We came up with the idea after our friends and family could not fathom the things that I had been telling them about living here, so I started doing Facebook posts enlightening everybody about our journey here.
"My son likes technology, so he knows all about YouTube channels. He suggested doing one, so his old friends in South Africa could see what he had been up to, and I thought it was a good idea and went with it."
She said living in China was not easy on the family, so starting the channel helped them stay connected to family in South Africa.
'We are family-oriented. We miss our family and friends like crazy. It breaks our hearts every time that we miss out on a family get-together. If we had the opportunity, we would return to South Africa in a heartbeat.
'Adjusting to a new language, unfamiliar surroundings, being far away from family and friends, and basically starting from scratch made it hard but being able to share my son and our family's everyday lives through videos, makes it fun.
"In addition, we hope that this channel teaches people about the beauty of diversity and the power of curiosity. We want it to showcase how cultures can connect and coexist, how children can grow with empathy and open-mindedness, and how being different is something to celebrate."
Kihaan stars in the videos, while Kashmira edits them.
Kihaan Kylas making his Mother's Day video for the channel.
Image: Supplied
'Through my eyes, I try to share what everyday life looks like here in China. From trying new foods and exploring new places, to learning Mandarin, celebrating different cultures and sharing fun family moments,' said Kihaan.
He said the channel was a fun family-friendly space that also teaches children to appreciate diversity and enjoy the little things in life.
'People should tune in to my channel to see the world through the eyes of a South African Indian boy growing up in China. It's unique and interesting. I miss South Africa but I'm excited to show my friends and family China,' he added.
The pilot video was uploaded last week and even though the channel has 103 subscribers, the video has already reached 3 500 views. New videos will be uploaded every weekend.
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