Write On! Daraja Girl Earns Top Honors in World Essay Competition
By Sarah Cullip
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” That’s the message that Christine M. (Form 4) would like readers to take away from her award-winning essay, “The Written Image.”
Christine wrote the piece on her birthday, March 27, just three days before the submission deadline for the World Youth Essay Competition (WYEC) 2018. The annual competition offers a $1700 USD Grand Prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany to meet with international leaders and journalists to inspire youth in their writing.
The WYEC accepts written work from high school and university students from all countries, but with special attention to submissions from Nepal, India, Germany, Thailand, Gambia, Philippines, Kenya, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia, Zambia, Indonesia, Morocco, France, and Brazil.
The WYEC Jury prompts students to write about a subject that interests, motivates, or inspires them the most. In her essay, Christine confronted an extremely painful part of her past regarding two accidents that befell her family, both affecting her father in particular.
“I wrote it because I love my father and wanted to recognize him. I wrote it in memory of him,” said Christine. “I want to let people know that what happens to them doesn’t have to downgrade their dreams, but instead can raise their spirits.”
In a contest that saw thousands of submissions, the power, passion, and authenticity of her piece earned her a spot in the final rounds.
Daraja Academy is so proud of Christine and this well-deserved accolade, and we are excited to continue watching her grow as a writer and a person.
“I (Christine Maina) have undergone a lot of traumatizing moments in my life but the challenges act as my source of strength. I whisper to myself words of encouragement every single morning and this is what keeps my day feeling great and determined. Despite what I have gone through in the past seventeen years, I have learnt to make challenges my source of strength.”
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