‘HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE’ – IN MEMORY OF DEBORAH TOLA

Does reading change lives? In Keeping It Real (KIR) Foundation we have seen first-hand how reading has changed our lives and the lives of our beneficiaries including the lives of the three young girls who coincidentally are all from the same school and are the winners of this year’s World Poetry Day Competition.

“I observe before speaking because Reading Changed My Life!” – Praise Emmanuel – Primary 5 Pupil of Community Primary School, Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt, Rivers State (Winner of KIR Foundation 8th Annual Poetry Competition)

“I break my words into syllables anytime I find it difficult to say any word.” – Favour Sonye Inemeowaji – Primary 6 Pupil of Community Primary School, Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt, Rivers State (1st Runner-up of KIR Foundation 8th Annual Poetry Competition)

“Reading has helped me improve my vocabulary. I now use words like ‘voraciously’ in a sentence.” – Future Eleberi – Primary 5 Pupil of Community Primary School, Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt, Rivers State (2nd – Runner up of KIR Foundation 8th Annual Poetry Competition).

KIR Foundation hosted the 8th Annual Poetry Competition in 10 primary schools in 4 States (Rivers State, Kwara State, Cross Rivers State, and Kaduna State) in Nigeria to commemorate World Poetry Day 2022. This year’s competition with the theme ‘How Reading Changed My Life’ was held in loving memory of our last year’s winner Deborah Tola.

World Poetry Day is celebrated globally on the 21st of March. It is a day set aside to promote reading, writing, publishing, and teaching poetry. In the past seven years, KIR Foundation has organized an inter-primary school Poetry Competition among primary schools in Port Harcourt to promote awareness and appreciation for Poetry.

110 pupils from 6 Public Primary Schools in Port- Harcourt submitted their poems. It was quite amazing that all the winners in Rivers State this year were girls and they were from the same school; Community Primary School, Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The winners; Favour, Praise, and Future were really excited because they had the privilege of reading their poems live on Radio at Abeko Media.

Also, the KIR Foundation 8th Annual Poetry Competition in the other three States was organized by our Reading Corner Implementing Partners in the Reading Corners that were set up in the beneficiary schools in their States.

Kareem Adamu, Adejo Emmanuel, and Shuaibu Abdulkareem, Primary 6 Pupils of LEA Primary School, Ungwar Maichibi Television were the winners in Kaduna State. While, Issa Muhammed, a Primary 4 pupil of NYSC Primary School Afon, was the winner in Kwara State. Whereas, Uwana Edet Okon, a Primary 5 Pupil of P.C.C.N Primary School, Ishe Town, was the winner in Cross River State.

All the winners got dictionaries and were quite happy that they could write winning poems. Thank you, donors, partners, and volunteers, for inspiring the next generation in the creative arts and building their skills and self-confidence!