Chronicle Editor
Yvonne Ncube, Showbiz Correspondent
FIFTY women on Wednesday walked away with prizes from the My Beautiful Home competition for their outstanding home decorations.
Prizes, all relevant for a rural setup, included solar panels, Jojo tanks, ploughs, solar panels, pots, buckets, dishes and chickens. They were awarded to the women who qualified in the top 50 out of the 860 participants.
This year’s edition saw more wards coming to showcase their talents, something which the organisers said was a great achievement.
Stakeholders who gathered at Amagugu Cultural Centre for the prize-giving ceremony were welcomed by a performance from Drums of Peace, a group led by Lewis Moyo.
Sponsors were also present at the event, which has, for the past nine years, been held at the same venue founded by renowned historian Pathisa Nyathi.
Traditional dishes were served.
In different interviews, the winners thanked organisers for the competition saying it is capacitating them.
Precious Nyathi who took the first prize and walked home with a plough among other prizes said: “I’m very happy that I won this year. Last year, I got a Jojo tank and this year, I got a plough. Next year, I’m aiming for something else. I’m grateful that the organisers have given us this opportunity to showcase our creativity and actually get rewarded for it.”
She said the competition was good in that, they also learn various new skills along the way and beautify their homes.
“From this competition, I don’t only gain the prizes as my home is beautiful and presentable. Also, I’ve learnt new skills in designing my home through this challenge and I’m very happy,” said Precious Nyathi.
Royina Ndlovu, another winner said she is already thinking about a design for the next competition.
“It was my first time contesting in this competition, but I could feel that I outdid myself. My instincts told me that I was going to win. I won a plough and I’m very happy that farming is going to be much easier as I won’t have to labour as I used to.
“I want to thank the organisers and their sponsors for giving us this opportunity. It’s not something that anyone can just wake up to any day, that’s why I’m already thinking about my next design,” Ndlovu said.
Pathisa Nyathi said he was humbled by the success of the ninth edition.
“Women worked tirelessly to decorate their homes as they all thrived to make unique designs, different from the others. A total of 860 women coming from different wards participated in the competition. This competition which has been going on for nine years is not only about making homes beautiful, but it is also a revitalisation of culture.
“I’m humbled and thankful to all the sponsors who’ve made this edition possible. Next year we clock a decade and we hope it’ll be bigger than ever before,” Nyathi said. – @SeehYvonne
Online Reporter