We are pleased to share the results of the second annual Noah V. Kucij Essay Contest held this spring at Kingdom Embassy School in Bernard Farm, Liberia. Our church has supported education and health programs in Liberia for over two decades and also does important work in both Ghana and Sierra Leone.
What is this Essay Competition?
The goal of this competition was twofold:
- We sought to encourage student involvement in writing.
- Provide students with an opportunity to earn cash prizes to benefit their families.
We awarded eleven prizes in three divisions based on grade levels. Grades 4, 5, and 6 had three prizes, while the 7th through 9th division and high school students in grades 10 through 12 each had four winners.
The top award in each division was $20 U.S. Dollars, with 2nd prize $15.00, and a third prize of $10.00.
The junior and senior high third-place winners were too close to call, so we awarded two third-place prizes in each division. While the dollar amounts awarded may seem very small by American standards, they are significant in Liberia, where the average monthly salary hovers around $150. It is significantly less for the many subsistence farmers, hunters, and market vendors. The women who peddle their wares and/or produce in the ubiquitous sprawling outdoor markets consider a profit of three dollars to be a successful day.
2025 Essay Competition Results
When you read some of the excerpts of winning essays at the end of this blog, keep in mind that English is a second language to most students who grew up in homes where one or more of Liberia’s 27 tribal dialects were likely spoken. And as a modern nation founded by formerly enslaved Americans over two hundred years ago, the establishment of English as the national language made sense. While enslaved in America, it was essential for Africans and their descendants to understand their enslavers and communicate with one another, as those taken from Africa came from over a thousand different tribes along the West African coast, each with its own distinct language. The resulting “Liberian English” takes some getting used to, as the cadence, construction, and grammatical and usage quirks strongly impact what it sounds like and how it appears in writing. An example would be that while a New Yorker might say, “I must be going to school now,” a Liberian student might write that as he pronounces it, “I muh be goving school just now.” It is the job of English teachers in Liberia to assist students in improving their ability to communicate in Standard English, which will help them succeed in achieving higher education and gainful employment. With 84 essays entered in the competition, the judges had lots of reading to do. Here are some excerpts. Students were tasked with writing about “The Best Thing I Ever Read.”
By Sallamatu Rogers / Age 10 / Grade 5 “The best story I read was Never Again Pa Gono. It is very interesting to me because this story taught me to be honest to people and also to be polite when growing as a child. It is about a boy called Steven Gaye who was very rude and never respected any older person. One day Steven was playing football and threw a stone at the passing car of Mr. Gono.”
She goes on to explain how Gono ignores the boy who is known to be rude and eventually helps Steven when the child is injured in an auto accident. The essay was very long and very well written by a young student. FIRST PLACE/ Gr. 4-6
By Samuel S. Duworko / Age 18 / Grade 12 “I read a short story called The Graveyard Also Has Teeth. The story had a strong effect on me because of its deep message about respect for the dead. Many people think of graveyards as scary or empty but this story made me see them in a new way. It showed that the graveyard is a place of memories, history and meaning. Those buried there had dreams, families and feelings and deserve our respect; not fear or disrespect.” Samuel goes on to conclude “…it helped me to grow as a person and made me think more about life, death and how we treat each other. I carry these lessons with me,”
The essay was very well written and had excellent spelling and grammar and original thoughts! FIRST PLACE / Gr. 10-12
We congratulate all the winners and entrants, and we thank Dave and Jane Kenneston of Rotterdam, N.Y., whose donation fully funded this year’s contest prizes, as well as a year-end party for all attending the school closing awards ceremony. The Kennestons were dear friends of our late son, for whom the contest is named. He was an HVCC professor, a successful poet, and a mentor to many students.
Written by John and Lyn Kucij
Read about the 2024 essay competition here: Celebrating Liberian Winners of the First Noah V. Kucij Memorial Essay Contest
