The winners of the “My Covid Journey” poetry competition, hosted by the Western Cape Education Department, were recently announced, with local Siphokuhle Tshapela from Franschhoek being crowned one of two winners in the Xhosa category.
The department launched the competition during International School Library Month at the end of October last year.
Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schäfer says they received entries from 85 schools throughout the province. Entries touched on anything related to the pandemic and the learners’ experiences. Learners could enter Afrikaans, English and Xhosa poems. Two winners, a primary and high school learner, were chosen in each category. The winning schools also received R25 000 each. Siphokuhle was the only winner in the Cape Winelands Education District.
The poems were guided by four questions: How do you feel about the Covid-19 pandemic? How has it affected you and your school? How has it affected your family and friends? How do we move forward from here? How can your school library help?
Siphokuhle entered the competition last year when she was in Grade 7 at Dalubuhle Primary School. The 13-year-old has since started Grade 8 at Ihlumelo Secondary this year.
A shy Siphokuhle says she is very happy to be one of the winners. She didn’t think or expect that she would win. She thanks her school and teachers who have always supported her. Dalubuhle’s principal Nomhle Mbenenge says that Siphokuhle has made the school proud with the R25 000 that the school has won. Mbenenge added: “Although she is not at the school anymore a lot of learners who are still here will benefit from her work.”
The money that the school received will go towards the school’s library resources. On congratulating the winners Schäfer said that she looks forward to see how schools benefit from the prize money.
“Most importantly, I thank the learners who chose to share their experiences of the pandemic. It can be really tough to speak about what we are going through, especially when the education sector has taken such strain over the past two years. I am proud of their willingness to share their stories with us and hope that it has been emotionally beneficial for them to do so!”
