South Sudan makes first brave entrance at African Spelling Bee contest

The team that represented South Sudan at the spelling bee competition in Uganda. (Courtesy photo)

Three pupils chaperoned by two teachers made the coterie that was the South Sudan National Spelling Bee team that participated in the prestigious African Spelling Bee for the first time to mark a memorable moment in the country’s spelling competition history.

With confidence, they traveled to the sixth edition of the African Spelling Bee hosted by Uganda Spelling Bee in the capital, Kampala from the 6-10 December 2023 at an event where  48 spellers from 11 participated including Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, South Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, among others.

According to Emmanuel Bida Thomas, the program manager of Excellence Foundation for South Sudan, a nonprofit organization that initiated and runs the South Sudan National Spelling Bee, pupils from Juba Diplomatic and Alekma Academy School made the team to the competition because they emerged the best spellers during the Juba Primary Schools Mini Competition 2023. However, their performance was dismal due to myriad factors.

“South Sudan could not scoop any awards, but as first-timers, the team gained valuable experience that will shape its participation at the 7^th African Spelling Bee in Nigeria next year,” he explained.  “The spellers were nervous, especially being in the front of a new International audience. Semantic and differences in accents-spelling largely depend on how the speller grasps the pronunciation of the spelling master.”

Bida said that the junior category winners were from South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, whereas the senior category winners were from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. There were only three winners per category.

For her part, one of the spellers from South Sudan, Habiba Mui, 14, said she was grateful and had unforgettable pleasant experiences during her participation at the African Spelling Bee 2023.

“In the name of my country South Sudan, I want to thank the organizing team for the opportunity they gave us as children to participate in this event,” she said.  “And I want to appreciate the support from the teachers and to teacher Daniel who traveled with us.”

Another speller, Deng Majak, said he was nervous but that the competition taught him that reading books is a strong tool for success and opportunities.

“It was tense and I was somehow scared because of all the new faces,” he valiantly admitted.

The five members comprised Daniel Oleke, a teacher from Juba Diplomatic Primary School, Gabriel Majok Ajang-Amal, a teacher from Alekma Academy, Akoy Lual Dual, a junior speller from Alekma Academy, Habiba Mui Jacob a senior speller from Juba Diplomatic Primary School, and Deng Majak a senior speller from Juba Diplomatic Primary School becoming the first South Sudanese teachers and spellers to make a debut at the continental competition.

According to Bida, the team, being first-time participants, grappled with nervousness, especially because of being in front of a new International audience, and semantics resulting from differences in the accents and pronunciation.