SOME OF the country's future leaders yesterday used their artistic skills to depict their idea of what a family should be during the exhibition of 'The Family is Love' poster competition, an initiative of the Child Development Agency (CDA).
The children, between six and 12 years old, had their posters displayed at the exhibition held at the Jamaica 4-H Club headquarters, Old Hope Road, St. Andrew.
The aim of the competition was to heighten the children's awareness and understanding of the importance of family life in their own development.
The youngsters created impressive pieces using pencils, crayons, markers and water colours to express their vision of the ideal family situation.
"The pieces from our talented young artists are real works of art ... worth more than a million words," said Alison Anderson, chief executive officer of the CDA.
Elias Asher, a student of St. Hugh's Preparatory School, and Natalia Surgeon, of Jessie Ripoll Primary, both 10 years old, tied for first place. They received $20,000 each.
"It's very exciting to have won. I put a lot of effort into this poster, because I like to show all of my experience in art," Elias said. He added that his family provided the inspiration that he needed.
Natalia related that the poster took her two weeks to complete, but felt rewarded for her efforts. "My family inspired me, and also the things we do together, I feel good to be one of the winners," she remarked.
Second place went to 12-year-old Brittney Stern of St. Andrew Preparatory, who received $10,000. Six year-old Joanna-Joy Gray, of Hosanna Preparatory School, took home third place and the $5,000 prize.
Winner of The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee championship, Rosanna Pike of Ardene High School, chaired the event. The audience observed a minute's silence for Britanni Foster, daughter of Maurice Foster, who had entered the competition prior to her passing away. She placed in the top 20.
