Discover what the meaning of home means to one Canadian student and how her recent win in the Genworth Canada?s Meaning of Home Essay Contest is having a powerful impact on other families!
?I changed my mind when I knew? you slept on the road side benches/shivering in the cold/sometimes wet in the rain,? wrote 11-year-old Chaamindri Fernando, winner of the sixth annual Genworth Canada Meaning of Home Essay Contest.
Thousands of entries poured in from students across Canada in grades 4-6, expressing what the word ?home? means to each fledgling author. The contest is run in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, to whom Genworth Canada donates $5 for each entry, plus an additional $5000 for each runner-up and a grand prize of $60,000 for the winner?s essay. The winner gets the chance to direct their funds towards the Habitat for Humanity branch of their choice, and wins a pizza party for their school, as well as an iPad for themselves.
?I was thrilled when I heard that I won,? said Chaamindri, thanking her family and teachers for their help and support. ?To donate $60,000 is something our family will never be able to do.?
Comparing her experiences of wanting her own bedroom and and new clothes with seeing others struggling to find shelter and adequate meals, Chaamindri?s essay was moving and showed a great deal of introspection from a sixth grade student.
When asked what home meant to her, Chaamindri explained that her family is the essence of home. ?Family means a great deal to me,? she said, noting that her grandparents and other relatives are together often.
A native of Sri Lanka, Chaamindri?s family is currently residing there, but visits Winnipeg, Manitoba often. Chaamindri considers the city a second home. Her essay reflects on her appreciation for family, and her gratefulness for a bedroom to share with her little brother (she wrote, ?I share a room with my little brother that I love/I?m grateful for what I have?). Many of the other entries in this year?s contest echo the same sentiment?even at a young age, it seems, Canadian youth understand that home is more than a roof and four walls.
Yet, a family must have a place to live and grow together?and with their generous donation to Habitat for Humanity, Genworth Canada is helping Canadian families in need find a place to call home.
What does Chaamindri hope Habitat for Humanity will achieve with the funds she has earned? ?I know Habitat for Humanity will use that money to build a home for [people] in Winnipeg,? she says, and then showing a true spirit of charity, this contest winner remarks, ?but I wish I could have been there to help them? maybe when I visit again, I can get a chance to help.?
To learn more about the Genworth Canada Meaning of Home contest, visit http://www.genworth.ca/contest/home.html
About the Author:
Tiffany Hann is the Events Administrator for Blue Sea Philanthropy Inc., a non-profit foundation that manages two national events:?The Coldest Night of the Year?and?The Ride for Refuge. She loves camping, sewing and trivia.
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