Two University of Nairobi students have emerged victorious in a creative writing competition.
Hope Nabalayo and Ariel Major were jointly declared the Asharami Synergy Kenya Creative Writing Competition winners during an awards ceremony held at KCA University in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology’s Cheryl Omolo emerged second, while Baraton University’s Julius Musya Kilonzo and Kisii University’s Nelson Gichuki managed third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Asharami Synergy Kenya and the Sahara Group Foundation in 2023 organised a creative writing competition for university students in Kenya.
This was aimed at fostering greater understanding and participation of youth in climate action, energy transition discourse and sustainability.
Christened the 'Asharami Synergy Creative Writing Competition’, the initiative received 225 submissions from university students who sent in essays, poems and plays on “creating a sustainable path for Africa’s energy transition.”
The winning entries stood out for their creativity, originality, and ability to convey compelling messages capable of facilitating the participation of young Kenyans in Africa’s March towards Energy Access and Sustainability.
“This has been mission accomplished for Sahara Group Foundation and Asharami Synergy Kenya as our focus was to get youths in Kenya involved in the conversation around climate change and energy transition in Africa, especially seeing that they will bear the brunt of decisions made today,” Sahara Group Foundation Ejiro Gray said.
Gray said the entries’ quality indicated that they were on course to prepare Kenya youths for seamless generational sustainability.
Commending Sahara Group and Asharami Synergy Kenya for the initiative, KCA University’s deputy vice-chancellor, of research, innovation and outreach Prof. Vincent Onywera said “Climate change is a matter that calls for an inclusive engagement of all stakeholders leaving no one behind, so this creative writing competition for our youths is important because we must catch them young.”
Asharami Synergy Kenya operations supervisor Lavinah Gonah said Sahara Group was happy with the competition’s success.
Gonah commended all students who participated in the competitions.
“Asharami Synergy Kenya remains committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure Kenya becomes a leading voice in driving a just energy transition for Africa,” Gonah said.
He said Asharami Synergy Kenya in collaboration with the Sahara Group Foundation and Treedom had since commenced planting of 1,100 trees in Kenya to reduce carbon emissions.
“Today, winning this award has validated me as a creative writer. I thank Asharami Synergy for allowing me and many other students to truly express ourselves and contribute to the cause of creating sustainable solutions. Winning this award allows me to tap further into my creativity and be more vocal in environmental matters that affect Africa and knowing that as a youth I am at the forefront of fulfilling this mandate,” Nabalayo said.
“I’m happy to have won this competition put together by the Sahara Group and Asharami Synergy Kenya. This is a milestone for me, I am passionate about climate justice and climate change,” Major said.
Major said the competition was a step towards developing a clean Kenya and a clean Africa.
“These are steps that will lead towards clean energy and environmental sustainability,” Major said.
Cheryl said she was happy to emerge as one of the winners.
She said she intends to continue contributing her thoughts on sustainability on many more platforms.
“I am grateful to Asharami Synergy Kenya and the Sahara Group Foundation for this laudable initiative,” she said.
In line with Sahara Group’s dedication to celebrating and rewarding excellence, the top five winners received cash prizes, plaques, and certificates for their excellent performance. The joint winners received $500 each, while the third, fourth and fifth winners received $250, $150, and $100, respectively.
Asharami Synergy Kenya Limited is a frontline downstream company that contributes to economic growth in the nation by promoting access to reliable and clean energy solutions.