President’s Village and Plaisance secondary school are the winners of the first Children’s Green Christmas competition organised by the National Council for Children (NCC) in collaboration with the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) and the Mayor of Victoria.

They received their prizes during the launch of the Green Christmas Village held on Monday evening at Paradis Des Enfants.

The Green Christmas Village in fact comprises the work of the schools which took part in the Green Christmas competition and the idea is to bring an additional cheer and Christmas spirit to the children and their families during this festive season.

Three primary schools, four secondary schools and the President’s Village took part in the competition.

The rationale behind the Children’s Green Christmas is to educate the younger generation on the benefits of an eco-friendly Christmas without compromising on the festive season’s allure. It is also to showcase their imagination and artistic talents through using recycled materials to illustrate Christmas.

The participants were from Anse Etoile, Anse Royale and Bel Eau primary schools, Belonie, Plaisance, Perseverance and Mont Fleuri secondary schools and from the President’s Village. The competition was launched early November and children had been installing their Christmas exhibits as of Thursday December 9, 2021. The theme for the competition was the ‘Nativity Scene’.

President’s Village exhibits consist of a manger with baby Jesus, his family, friends who visited him, the animals present and a lighted Christmas tree. The children used recycled wooden pallets and coconut leaves for the manger, wooden pallets for the Christmas tree, old pillows filled with sand to make the animals, sponges and old clothes to make and dress up the human figures, among other little recycled items used for little features on their exhibit.

A child representative said that it took them one month to make the exhibit as they wanted to come out with something well done and out of the ordinary.

She added that they were expecting to win a prize and all the same very happy to have won the first prize.

She said that they will participate in the next edition.

Anse Etoile primary school came out second in that category.

As for Plaisance secondary school, winner in the secondary school category, the children set up their exhibit around the song ‘Sa Kart Nwel’ by Serge Camille, displayed on a big wooden Christmas card showing the love, peace and gratitude that Christmas evokes. The setting with the theme song revolves around two couples sitting down and listening to the song in remembrance of Christmas in the old days. They used wooden pallets and lots of PET bottles among other recycled materials to construct their exhibit.

Jean-Christophe Pool said that it took them two weeks to make the exhibit and it was two weeks of hard work which has paid off.

He added that they were very happy to have won the first prize.

He called on other youths to participate in such competitions to lure them away from negative influences.

Belonie secondary school came in second position in that category.

The colourful exhibits include Christmas personalities and Christmas decorative items namely replicas of Jesus, Mary, wise men, animals, snowmen, Christmas card, stars, trees, candies, gifts among other decorations made from plastic bottles, wooden pallets, car tyres, card board including papier mache, coconut leaves and coconuts and other recycling materials.

Apart from the participants, their teachers, parents and other children coming to the playground on Monday evening, also present were the principal secretary for Social Affairs, Linda William Melanie; the secretary general of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts and Mayor of Victoria David Andre; the chief executive of NCC, Yasmin Umarji; the chief executive of SNYC, Penny Belmnont; among others.

All of the participants received a certificate and the teams who failed to make it in first and second positions were also rewarded for their efforts.

Addressing the gathering, Mayor Andre said that despite a lack of resources and Covid-19 restrictions, which have hampered various leisure activities, the Children’s Green Christmas project bears testimony to the willingness of one and all to make Victoria vibrant.

Mrs Umarji said that NCC is keen for children, as the next generation, to learn, understand and to continue to promote an eco-friendly planet.

She added that the Children’s Green Christmas project is among the few activities organised for children this year amid the pandemic.

She thanked the children for their creative ideas to add to the Christmas ambiance in Victoria and called on them to continue in activities that will bring honour to them in their lives and stay away from drugs and alcohol and other anti-social behaviour.

Those present were entertained with Christmas songs by choirs from the President’s Village and Anse Etoile, dance performance by the Mont Fleuri secondary school, poem by Marion Jean from Anse Royal secondary school and other performances by the ‘New Generation’ from SNYC.

One of the organisers of the Children’s Green Christmas, Stan Finesse from NCC, said that as a pilot project, they are very satisfied with the number of participants and that for next year the activity will target all schools in the country.

The accompanying photos show the winning exhibits as well as other highlights in the Green Christmas Village.

Source: Seychelles Nation