By: Saidu Jalloh
The Patriotic Advocacy Network (PAN) has concluded the fourth edition of its Public Speaking for Girls competition, providing a platform for girls from different schools to demonstrate their public speaking abilities, creativity and talents while advocating for confidence, self-expression and girls’ empowerment.
The competition featured students competing in different categories, including public speaking, spoken word poetry and music, with participants demonstrating their abilities through speeches, original creative performances and musical presentations.
Miraculous MMDG Prat of Crown International Academy, Waterloo, emerged as the overall winner in the public speaking category. She described her victory as exciting, noting that it was her first major competition.
She attributed her success to her performance, boldness and speech delivery, adding that continuous practice and determination helped her overcome the challenges she encountered during preparation.
Encouraging other girls to develop confidence in public speaking, Prat said: “Be confident, be bold and be brave. Do not hide your potential, and never underestimate your worth.”
In the spoken word poetry category, Henritta Kebbi of The Saint Joseph Secondary School emerged as the winner. She explained that her passion for creative writing and her mother’s involvement in spoken word poetry influenced her interest in the art.
Kebbi disclosed that she initially experienced writer’s block while preparing for the competition but received encouragement from other poets, who advised her to understand the topics and translate her thoughts into words.
The spoken word category featured three themes across the competition’s stages: gender equality during the preliminary round, early marriage in the semi-final and education in the grand finale.
Reflecting on her performance, Kebbi identified creativity, originality, confidence and effective delivery as important elements of spoken word poetry.
She urged girls to speak up and resist attempts to silence their voices, declaring: “Your voice is your choice, and your voice is not disobedience. Do not let people make you feel otherwise.”
She further called on society to give girls the support and opportunities they deserve, noting that they could achieve much more when adequately encouraged.
Meanwhile, Eden Mila Kamara of The Avengers Secondary School emerged as the winner in the music category. She described her victory as a blessing and expressed happiness at representing her school and bringing home the first-place trophy.
Kamara credited her musical development to strong family support, explaining that her father, Red Max, is a musical coach, while her sister is also a singer.
She said her family collectively participated in writing the songs she performed during the competition, adding that managing time was her major challenge during preparation.
According to Kamara, the creativity and quality of her songs, which she believed could compete at international level, helped distinguish her from other contestants.
She said making her school proud had been her primary motivation from the beginning of the competition.
Addressing girls, Kamara encouraged them to discover and develop their individual talents, stressing that everyone has something unique to offer.
“God has blessed everybody with something. So, find that thing, make use of it and build on it. Use your voice to speak for people who cannot speak for themselves or those who are shy,” she advised.
She also appealed to the Ministry of Education to pay greater attention to girls’ talents and provide more opportunities for them to express themselves.
The three winners collectively highlighted confidence, creativity, determination, family support and access to opportunities as important factors in empowering girls to discover their potential and make their voices heard.