Siaya teacher ranked 7th in global essay writing contest

A primary school teacher in Siaya County has been ranked the best short story writer in East Africa.

Judith Ojoro, 48, a teacher at Sega Girls' Primary School, was ranked seventh globally but was the best from East Africa and third in Africa behind two Nigerian teachers in the competition that attracted more than 1,000 teachers worldwide.

The prestigious international writing competition run by the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat, based on the theme 'Belonging', received more than 3,000 entries from both school children and the Commonwealth countries.

Nandini Dasqupta from India is the overall global winner in the teacher category, with a story that deals sensitively with the issue of families so hard-pressed by poverty that they are forced to put children up for adoption.

The second position went to Ngozi Razak-Soyebi from Nigeria with a story describing the daily pressures and temptations of an abandoned street child in the city.

Speaking to The Standard yesterday, Ms Ojoro, who is also the deputy head teacher at the school, said people living with albinism face many challenges ranging from stigma to murder hence her desire to create awareness.

"The theme is my core skill choice in my action plan in my school and the Commonwealth Class story competition gave me an opportunity to delve into the topic of albinism, which I like. I also wanted to make the world know that albinism is not a curse or punishment to the parents but a biological condition we have no control over," she said.

The competition was judged by children's author and former Children's Laureate Anne Fine, and the British Council's arts department.

Ojoro, who teaches CRE and is also a trainer of music and drama, said she never expected to emerge among the best in an international competition.

 "Even though I didn't expect to be in that position, I knew that in every competition, everybody expects the best,'' she told The Standard.