What can you Create for CURRO?

Mariselle Stofberg
Tsitsi Pazvakawambwa

Curro, the group leader of schools in South Africa and Namibia, came up with an initiative to showcase the cultural talents of the learners in their schools. They called it CurroCreate and it offered various categories of culture showcasing. These categories include the Sing it, Act it, Read it, Spell it, Write it, Shoot it , Colour it, Move it, Make it, Tweet it and Play it category.

Last year was the first year CurroCreate took place at Windhoek Gymnasium Private School and it was a fairly new environment for students to delve into. A few eager beavers immediately ran for the opportunity to showcase their talents whilst a few were a bit hesitant to capture the opportunity.

Though the competition had just started, a few learners really shot for the stars and came out on top.

Learners obtained half honorary colors for obtaining a Black Raven certificate. These learners include Ayanna Srivastava who achieved a Black Raven for both her Shoot it entries, Ellené van Eck who achieved a Black Raven in the Write it category, Trudie Grobler who achieved a Black Raven in the Sing it category and finally Zander Olivier who achieved a Black Raven in the Act It category. Celé Wessels was the only learner in Windhoek Gymnasium to receive full honorary colours for obtaining a Kryptonite certificate for her drawing in the Make It category.

When asked how she felt after learning about her achievement she said that her achievements left her a bit speechless. “I felt overwhelmed at first and a little stunned. It was such an honor and I was really excited. Definitely a big ‘wow moment’ for me. I almost withdrew my entry because art is such a subjective topic, but I went with my gut feel.”

Another competitor, Michelle Mushonga described the satisfactory feedback she received on her writing piece as encouraging and motivational for her a s an artists. “As an author, you are never 100% satisfied with your work. However, it is always very encouraging when you get good feedback from people.”

Now you could imagine the excitement on each learner’s face when news broke that the CurroCreate was back again in 2019.

”Don't doubt your instincts, take part, give your best and enjoy your creativity,” Celé Wessels advised all those who are competing this year.

James du Preez, who along with another student will perform an Act, expressed his excitement to be criticed by a well-know South African judging panel.

Now all that’s left to do, is to wait and see what achievements await the learners of Windhoek Gymnasium for the year of 2019.