During the summer holidays, FunDza ran an essay writing competition called ‘My AHA! Moment’. Participants were asked to write about an incident that marked a shift in perspective, thinking or learning. The competition closed on 6 February and the FunDza team has been busy reading and judging the couple of hundred different entries.
There were many amazing stories… and so picking the winners was fraught with difficulty. After much deliberation, the judges have made their final decisions. The senior cohort of entries was particularly hard – and so the judges decided to do something different. Instead of awarding a winning entry and two runners-up, the top three entries are marked as the ‘winners’. For the junior cohort, there is one winner and two runners-up. And, there are a number of highly commended and commended entries too.
A big round of applause goes to…
Senior Winner: Somila Mjekula, Western Cape
I’ve always enjoyed creating writing because it afforded me the opportunity to see my wild imaginative thoughts come to life on a page, but this was the first time I’ve ever submitted a personal piece of writing for any competition. I’m thrilled to have a moment (from the essay) that was meaningful to me, be acknowledged in this way. I plan to use my winnings to pay for flights to go home in PE and see my family and friends in April. Read her essay, The magic of new stories
Senior Winner: Nivashnie Poonsamy, Kwa-Zulu Natal
I want to give a portion of the prize money to the SPCA, spend a portion of it on pre-ordering a few books from my favourite authors, and I’ll keep the remainder for a rainy day. I am so grateful – I want to ensure that the money is spent on things that matter most to me and have long-lasting benefits. Read her essay, Prayers, blow-outs, and life-stories
Senior Winner: Lungile Manyathi, Gauteng
Winning means a chance to have my voice heard as a young writer and spreading a word of encouragement to those who may need it in from time to time. I wrote with the idea of letting people know that it is okay to be unique and own your own spotlight. Winning simply confirmed that the message was valuable. I plan on using the money towards my education. Most importantly, I shall be graduating with a B.A in Psychology soon. The money will be most helpful. Read her essay, The weight of a crown
Junior Winner: Chantel Masilela, Mpumalanga
My facilitator, Ryan, introduced the competition to us at Imagine Impact during one of our community gatherings. Since I’ve always been passionate about writing short stories, I decided to give it a try. Winning has shown me that I am getting closer to reaching my full potential after a long period of dedication. I believe that success is not measured by the position that one has reached in life, but by the obstacles that he or she has overcome. Winning means this is just the beginning for me. Read her essay, Two Women in a Forest
Junior Runner-up: Kwandile Thwala, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Winning this means that my work is worth something. So thanks for the validation. I’ll spend the money on applying to university so I can study next year. I was inspired to enter because I was writing a lot during the holidays, mostly about human suffering, and Fundza gave the perfect platform to share it. Read her essay, Judge Not
Junior Runner-up: Tshireletso Matsogo, Gauteng
Winning this competition means I have more confidence in terms of my writing and sharing stories that I feel the world needs to know about. Winning means I am inspired to keep writing meaningful pieces of writing. I will be spending some of my money on a school trip I have coming up. Read her essay, The stories within
And, here are the entries that the judges wanted to highlight as:
Highly Commended:
Mpho Lethlake, A liberating moment
Robynn Lisa Paul, It takes a little rain to make a rainbow
Thembeka Mdlalose, Fat or crazy
Junior Phiri, Butterflies in masks
Sakile Dube, Fastest runners don’t always win races
Siyamthanda Mabizela, The one who got away
Zukisani Nongongo, God is Love
Commended:
Nomasonto Buthelezi, Everyone has their own story and this is mine
Daniel Sinyiza, Mathematics Sensation
Anele Shabangu, My father raped me
Qhama Fetimani, I could say no
Lisakhanya Nkqezo, Downfall
Simamkele Mbambo, Against all odds
Bonginkosi Balele, Code of men’s feelings
Thuto Mokele, I could say NO: A journey of choices
Kay-Dee Mashile, I have always been the one I was waiting for!
Lungelwa Kulati, Life behind the curtains
James Masilo, I never dreamed of coming forward
Congratulations to all of those featured here, and to all the participants in the competition. All entries will be published on fundza.mobi over time. Do keep on writing… and keep on reading too!