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SUCCESSFUL 4TH ANNUAL AFRICAN SPELLING BEE HOSTED AT THE SOURCE OF THE NILE
Posted by Roger Dickinson on 23 October 2019 9:55 PM CAT
The 4th African Spelling Bee has just been completed in Jinja, Uganda. The event brought together national spelling champions from 11 countries including Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan Zambia and the hosts, Uganda. Additional member countries Lesotho, Rwanda and Zimbabwe were late withdrawals due to logistical challenges.
After an intense 5 hours of competition, Mwansa Francis from Kafushi Boarding School in Chibombo in Zambia was crowned Senior Champion , while Samantha Bolo of Nyamninia Primary School in Siaya County in Kenya took away the Junior Champion crown.
The final positions in the Senior division were Mwansa Francis, Zambia first followed by Widad Mohamed of Sudan in second place with Ahmed Nadir from Sudan and Sulaiman Dunoma from Nigeria sharing third place
In the Junior Division it was Samantha Bolo followed in joint second by Eniola Idowu of Nigeria
Ananya Karaikal Senthil from. Uganda
Mwansa Francis ’victory was even more significant in that the Zambian team only managed to secure their participating at the last minute with support from Tarco Aviation and also that it was the first time Zambia had brought a team to the African Spelling Bee. In addition, IIE MSA, a leading private University in South Africa announce after the competition, that they would be continuing their support of the African Spelling Bee and the Mwansa Francis would be awarded a full Tuition Scholarship to IIE MSA on completion of High school.
In the team standings, Nigeria retained their Top Team prize they won in Kenya in 2019 with Sudan in second place and Kenya & Zambia sharing third.
The competition was held at the idyllic Jinja Nile resort and hosted by the Ugandan partner of the African Spelling Bee, enjuba.
According to Mr. Roger Dickinson, Founder of the African Spelling Bee , the 2019 event was the toughest to date and represented a big step up for the African Spelling Bee organisers. He added that being hosted by Uganda Spelling Bee at the Source of the Nile, in Jinja was also very symbolic ,as the Nile represents so much about what is powerful and beautiful about Africa.
The event was supported and sponsored by MTN, Tarco Aviation from Sudan, African Bank and stationery supplier Office National and Lucara Diamond Botswana.
Once the competition was over, participants enjoyed a visit to the Source of the White Nile river.
All participants returned safely to their home countries by Wednesday morning.
The African Spelling Bee is a growing association of national spelling bee organisation from across Africa that collectively impact the lives of over 7 million children each year.
The 2020 event is set to be held in Abuja, Nigeria with over 20 countries expected to participate.
