Kwekwe pupils at African Bee Spelling competition

TWO Goldridge Primary School learners from Kwekwe will represent Zimbabwe at the 6th African
Bee Spelling competition to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this month.

The 6th season of the African Spelling Bee is scheduled to be held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia from
December 5-9. The championship is expected to have more than 22 African countries competing for
the coveted title.

Grade 5 learner Ryan Mundende emerged the national champion in the primary schools category
and his fellow schoolmate and Grade 7 learner Humayra Miya finished third at the Zimbabwe
Spelling Bee competition held in Harare recently.

Over 500 learners from 79 schools took part in the competition organised by Zimbabwe Spelling Bee.
“We are indeed thrilled to have produced the National Spelling Bee champions.

“The two have made us proud and have raised the Goldridge flag high. We wish them the best and
we are confident that they will come top and proceed to go and compete internationally in India.

There are going to be the Best Spellers in the world,” said the school headmistress, Mirirai Bera.

She hailed the team coaches Molly Maredza and Tecla Jema for guiding Mundende and Miya to the
continental championships in Ethiopia.

“I am happy to have emerged number one in the national spelling competition. I am confident
because I am working hard for the regional competition. I want to thank my coaches for helping me
throughout this journey,” said Ryan.

Both Ryan and Humayra’s parents were happy with their children’s achievement and hoped that
they would raise the Zimbabwe flag high in Ethiopia.

The African Spelling Bee Consortium was founded in 2016 by 10 Spelling Bee organisations across
Africa and held their first African Spelling Bee in the same year in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The primary objective of the competition is to improve literacy and academic excellence, build and
sustain a reading culture, develop self-esteem, confidence, and interpersonal skills, develop human
capital through capacity building, promote community-based partnerships, and celebrate
the cultural diversity and unity of the African Child.