A drawing and painting competition for primary school children held last week in Kigali attracted over 150 children from 40 schools. Colors Club Garden Resort and Kids Park, in partnership with Inter Nations Kigali Community organised the event.

The competition was open to pupils ranging from the age of three to 15.

Depending on the age group, the children were tested on their imagination and creativity on how to draw and paint under specific themes.

For instance, for the middle group, they were tested on the theme "Mother Nature”, where they had to draw anything related to the sun, trees and flowers, among others. The senior ones were, on the other hand, tasked to imagine how science and technology change our lives, and come up with drawings of people watching TV or using mobile phones, among others.

The first and second winners from the three age groups were awarded a gold and silver trophy, respectively.

In the junior group, Etia Keza, from Ecole less Petitis Calins took the first position followed by Iteka Aela from the same school. Under the middle group, Khushi Upadhyay and Buri Bloosom, from La Colombiere School took the first and second positions, respectively. Lastly, Gisa Kayonga, from Kigali Parents’ School and Levis Cyubahiro, from GS Kimironko took the first and second positions respectively.

According to Jatin Uppadhyay, the proprietor of Colors Club and ambassador of Inter Nations Kigali Community, the main purpose of the event was to develop interest in art, drawing and painting among kids.

"We believe this will help children learn how to express their ideas using colours. This is a kind of competition that is designed to discover and nurture young people’s talents,” he said.

Isaac Ndumba, a teacher at La Colombiere, said during such events children get to interact with each other.

"Through interacting, they learn a lot from their fellow pupils from different schools. Parents also get to identify and explore their children’s potential, especially in creativity,” he said.

Ndumba added that such activities also build children’s confidence as they are supposed to work on their own. He, however, advised parents to take that opportunity to let their children learn from different environments beyond just class work.

Jane Kayitesi, a parent from Kimironko, A Kigali suburb, said she brought her six-year-old daughter so that she could discover her talent in art.

"Apart from that, such events help children to socialise and refresh their minds. They are also exposed to other extra-curricular activities like swimming and playing which refreshes their minds,” she said.