WHAT MADE US FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?


Sunday, May 26, 2013

Reasoma High School Essay Awards

   We should all be writing in our home languages more often here in South Africa. I should be writing this post in Sesotho, for example. There is beauty in our African languages that we sometimes overlook because we tend to use English most of the time.
   This realization was brought home after I attended the Reasoma High Essay Awards ceremony this past Wednesday. Here the matric students were asked to write an essay on any subject using  four(out of 11) of our official languages. These were Setswana, Sesotho, Isizulu and English. The top 8(two from each language category) were to be given prizes at this ceremony. The students not only had to write the essays but they also had to read them out to us.
   Yours truly - as the appointed adjudicator - had the unenviable task of deciding which of the 8 essays should win the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. And I must say that it was such a pleasure to see that - in this age of  English smses, English Twitter posts, Model C/private schools that use English instruction, etc - our matric students can still write and read their home languages very well. 
   Therefore deciding who among the 8 should win the laptop(1st prize), digital camera(2nd prize), and cell phone(3rd prize) was a big challenge for me. What ultimately influenced me the most in choosing the best three was the universal message contained in each essay and the way the language was used to convey it. 
   The first prize winner was an essay written in Setswana by a lady student called Lesego Mathe. I loved how layered this essay was. It started off like a family history, then later turned into a sibling rivalry tale, then it was about a shattered dream for their mother's favourite daughter. This shattering  was actually not real. But was a wish by the narrator and her less favoured sisters that expressed itself in her sleep dream.
   The second winning essay was by Iris Majola and  was done in English. It dealt with the concept of beauty in women. Iris was saying beauty comes from inside. It was not found in a thin waist or pretty face. In the final analysis all women were beautiful. 
   The 3rd prize went to Precious Myaka, whose Isizulu essay was about children who were taking their newly bestowed rights too far. It has become difficult, as a result, to discipline kids at home and in school, Precious was saying.
   'Nice one' to all the matric students who took part in this competition. An even bigger 'high five' to the Sowerto group(bo-Zimbali, Lunga, Thokozani et al) who took the initiative to organize this essay competition.

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"Le saleng hantle. Hare kopaneng hape bekeng e tlang.(Goodbye. See you again next week.)"

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THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.

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SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU FEEL
GOOD THIS WEEK?
                      

                                         







     

   
   
      
         
            

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