Glenlyon Norfolk School Grade 5 student Nathan Papps has won a national writing contest, earning the grand prize of a $30,000 grant for Habitat for Humanity Victoria.
The contest, with prizes provided by Habitat for Humanity’s national arm, is called Meaning of Home and asks Grade 4, 5 and 6 students from across the country what home means to them.
This year’s contest attracted 10,200 entrants, with Nathan among more than 300 from Greater Victoria.
Nathan’s entry is a poem about seeing the construction of his new home and moving in with his family. It reads, in part:
“My home is not alive
Until the day my family moves in
We are my home’s heart
Beating life and love into our new home”
The money from the grant will help Habitat for Humanity Victoria build 11 new affordable homes.
Ten are in North Saanich and one is in Central Saanich.
“Nathan’s entry really does express how a house becomes a home when you bring in a family,” said Habitat for Humanity Victoria spokeswoman Kelly King. “And the importance of being able to have a secure and safe home in which to live has never been clearer than it is right now.”
Habitat for Humanity builds homes for people who pay an affordable mortgage in line with their income, and who agree to volunteer 500 hours to the organization’s projects.
