DC METRO ESSAY CONTEST AWARD CEREMONY
ABSTINENCE: THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
WFWP DC hosted an Essay Contest Award Ceremony for the brave young people who had written the best essays on the importance of maintaining sexual purity before marriage. The welcoming remarks for the ceremony were given by the MC, Mrs. Mitsuyo Yamada. To start the program, she called Rev. Zagery Oliver, pastor of the Washington Family Church, to offer the Invocation. The participants came with their families and friends. The audience was a blend of all ages: grandparents, parents and teenagers. In the registration area, we had a beautiful display made by Ms. Katherine Cromwell about WFWP and the former Essay Award Ceremonies.
The first speaker was Mrs. Angelika Selle, our WFWP national president, who was introduced by Mrs. Kim Dadachanji, WFWP chairwoman of Maryland. Mrs. Selle showed a PowerPoint presentation and video of WFWP's wide-ranging projects. She began her talk by saying the topic of abstinence is and has always been very important to her personally. She commended the participants, and said that it takes courage, it takes a lot of power, to stand up at this time and age and to write an essay on such a controversial topic. She said this issue needs to be addressed at this time because it's where such suffering and confusion and heartache come from. Lack of abstinence, she said, can take away your youth and your life. She also said the founders of WFWP, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her husband, have been promoting true family values for a long time, that these values are not a dream, but real and can be accomplished. Dr. Moon and her husband, Mrs. Dadachanji said, shine a light on what true love is.
One of the participants, Carl Harper (a senior at Coolidge High School, Washington, DC), spoke about his experience writing the essay. Hearing the message of purity directly from him sent an encouraging message to both the youth and adults in the audience. His talk was quite uplifting. Carl said he believes that young people must conduct themselves morally and in a godly way. This is why he is grateful to WFWP for its wisdom and commitment to giving high school students the opportunity to have a voice about issues that are critical toward fulfilling God's plan for their lives. Being reflective on what he believes allowed him to be strong to pursue those values that will empower him and others; he enjoyed writing the essay, he said, because he decided to wait for marriage before he has sex. After his speech, Ms. Elizabeth Aihe presented a check to Mr. Harper for winning honorable mention.
Dr. Marta Guzman, head of the Essay Contest Judging Committee, was then introduced by Ms. Katherine Cromwell, WFWP chairwoman of Virginia. Dr. Guzman explained the judging process of the essays and what was expected from the participants. She also said the essay contest is so important because it focuses on very important questions. She emphasized that WFWP and the Judging Committee are the vehicle, but the youth are the messengers.
The closing remarks were given by Ms. Eny Reed, WFWP DC Metro chairwoman. She spoke about her vision for starting the Essay Contest. She also said society today is misleading young people, telling them through the media that it is acceptable and "cool" to have sex early. She encouraged the young people to be strong in their decision to be abstinent and also encouraged parents, especially mothers, to take a stand and not let the media mislead young people any more.
Ms. Reed expressed our gratitude and appreciation to our national president Mrs. Selle for taking time to be with us in this very meaningful event.
Mrs. Selle and Mrs. Reed presented the three main awards. The first-prize winner was Nicole A. Debnam ($500); the second-place winner was Brittany E. Crow ($300); and the third-place winner was Evelyn M.D. Thomas ($150). After taking photos, the first-place winner read her very moving, personal essay of what had helped her find her way in life to make her commitment to abstinence.
Since Mother's Day was in a week's time, we had planned to offer all the mothers present a gift, so Mrs. Emiko Butler prepared WFWP broaches. All mothers were invited to come to the front, and Mrs. Selle presented the gifts to them as Dr. Moon's representative.
