Young author among 30 to participate in MoE writing camp

Minister of Education, Sonia Parag, with Samiyah Shaw (third from right in the back row) and other learners who will participate in the writing camp (Photo: MoE/ Facebook)

AT the age of 15, Samiyah Shaw, a fourth form student of the Good Hope Secondary made a name for herself locally for a number of exceptional reasons.

In her own way, Shaw chose to tackle the issue of bullying by writing a book titled, ‘Canvas of Strength,’ which was released nearly one year ago. It focuses on the importance of anti-bullying efforts, and tells the story of a girl, Maya, who was bullied and experienced emotional pain. Despite this, the main character learned how to turn her pain to strength.

Last Saturday, Samiyah along with other learners met with the Minister of Education, Sonia Parag, to kickstart a ground-breaking initiative — a permanent, continuous writing camp.

This will be hosted by the Ministry of Education’s Literacy Department and was described by the MoE as more than a workshop. It is a movement that will turn participants into published voices and will pave the way for improved literacy and literary performances across all school levels in Guyana.

The programme is set to begin with 30 young writers, using interactive activities to transform how students see the power of the pen.

Apart from this, Samiyah, who was a guest host on the Guyana Today Show, pointed out that in addition to writing, she also participated in a “No Smoking” competition held by the Ministry of Health, where she earned the second-place spot, as well as an Artificial Intelligence competition, where she developed a picture that showed how humans can be creative with AI.

When asked how she manages all that she does every day, she simply said, “I have a lot of free time, so I get to do more.”

Next year, Shaw will be taking the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.

Her book can be purchased on Amazon.