By Jimmy Chazama and Sam Banda Jnr
Lilongwe Girls Secondary School on Sunday carved a new script in the Association of the Teaching of English (Atem) drama competition when they came out top outclassing 17 other finalists during the grand finale held at Kamuzu Institute for Youth.
Dubbed Standard Bank Atem Mobischool contest, the girls’ secondary school won with their play titled Asimenye – The Tale of Shackled Voices, which tells the story of a bright and hopeful village girl, who receives a scholarship from a government ministry and travels to Oman with four other girls, dreaming of a better future.
The girls are trafficked into modern day slavery. Asimenye is forced to work as a maid in a private home, and is secretly trafficked for sex but despite the tears, trauma and terror, Asimenye remains a dreamer. As winners, Lilongwe Girls Secondary that won the hearts of a three judging panel of playwright Leslie Ndovi Jr and poets Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa and Paul Sezzie, pocketed K2 million and other goodies from Standard Bank Plc and Mobischool as well as a trophy. As this was not enough, the school that also came first during the divisional finals, produced the Best Actress in Juliet Banda, who played the role of Asimenye and Best Supporting Actress in Deborah Thawani.
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“It is all glory to God. This play resonated well with the competition’s theme of ‘Human Trafficking,’ and we crafted it after a thorough research,” the school’s drama patron Desiree Namachotsa said. Stella Maris Secondary School from the Southern Region which produced the Best English Speaker in Asante Banda came second with their play Expedition of Agony and pocketed K1.5 million and other goodies. St Maria Goretti also from the Central Region received K1 million and other goodies whereas Chichiri Secondary School from the Southern Region came fourth and walked home with K800,000 with Kamuzu Barracks Secondary School also from the Central Region
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coming fifth and got K500,000. The contest started on Saturday with nine schools performing and then a further nine other schools on Sunday before the winner was announced. Ndovie as a chief judge said they had a serious headache to come up with the winner saying that the performances from the 18 finalists were good and that the competition was stiff.
The judges whose criteria hinged on among others, message and stage setting pointed out some shortfalls which included most schools failing to address the theme adequately. In the individual awards which pocketed K60,000 and K40,000 and goodies, the Best Actor accolade went to Lloyd Mawuwa from Pius XII whereas Best Supporting Actor went to Praise Nkhata from Chichiri Secondary School. Atem President Davie Mpaso hailed Standard Bank and Mobischool for their support promising that they would start preparations for the next edition in September.
“After crying for quite a longtime and after writing proposals, Standard Bank and Mobischool responded positively,” Mpaso said of the contest, which did not take place last year. Standard Bank Head of Brand and Marketing, Tamanda Ng’ombe, whose institution pumped in K20 million through its Joy of the Arts initiative said art in the country needs to be supported. “Malawi is our home and we would like to drive its growth. As Standard Bank, we are committed towards development and at the same time building a future for young people in the artistic fields hence supporting Atem,” Ng’ombe said. She said that Standard Bank will also support the competition next year.
Mobischool Chief Executive Officer Kondwani Mkandawire applauded the hard work and dedication of the organisers and the participants. “We recognise the role Atem is doing in shaping leaders. This is a platform that boosts confidence in public speaking and cultural understanding,” Mkandawire said. The government through Ministry of Education also hailed Atem for a well organised event.
