On Friday, February 23rd, a cadre of student poets from the island’s primary schools met with their parents and teachers, at the Teachers’ Resource Center, as the Anguilla Bar Association hosted an awards ceremony to recognize the work of junior poets who had submitted poems for the Malliouhana Poetry Competition (MPC). The awards event was part of the activities for Law Week which was observed in November 2018.
The Malliouhana Poetry Competition runs annually under the auspices of the University of the West Indies Open Campus. Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks is the Country Manager of that institution, and in her opening remarks said:
“We are indeed delighted to share in this celebration of the written word, the poetry that has come out of the competition with the theme, ‘Words Can Also Harm Me.’ The Malliouhana Poetry Competition Committee is a collaboration of entities including the UWI Open Campus Anguilla, the Anguilla Library Service, the Department of Youth and Culture and the Anguilla Community College.
“We have hosted the Malliouhana Poetry Competition for several years in order to create an interest in literacy. We are very pleased to collaborate at this level with the Anguilla Bar Association as it presents these much deserved awards today to our young, upcoming poets.”
Dr. Banks emphasized how challenging it was for the judges to decide on the results of the competition which was held over the course of last year. In addressing the young writers, in particular, Dr. Fleming-Banks continued:
“You have demonstrated such a keen understanding of the topic. Some of your work was very difficult to judge, and we were very heartened through the reading of your poems. If you at this age have that understanding and empathy for those who are bullied, or if you have even experienced that yourself, then it is our hope that the community at large will understand what the challenges are for those children who are bullied.”
The prizes and awards were issued to the students by Mr. Kerith Kentish of the Anguilla Bar Association. In grades 3 to 4, 1st prize went to Adiaiah Linton; 2nd to Asante Mkobe; and 3rd to Dwight Benjamin — all three students of the Orealia Kelly Primary School.
In grades 5 to 6, 1st prize went to Aaronde Joseph of the Omololu Institute; 2nd to Ethan Connor of the Alwyn Allison Primary School; and the 3rd to Warren Buddle of the Adrian T. Hazell Primary School.
A total of 27 students took part in the competition, and each child received a certificate of participation. The Orealia Kelly School received a plaque for the most entries.
On behalf of the Anguilla Bar Association, Mr. Kentish thanked all of the participating students, their parents and their teachers for producing an excellent poetry competition.
