It all started at the beginning of 2020, when I was in 4th Grade. One day, my English teacher asked if I was interested in participating in a story writing competition. I was thrilled because story writing is something that I enjoy a lot.
Once I went through all the instructions and guidelines for writing a VoFG story, I knew that I wanted to write about animals because I love them a lot. However, it was on a trip along the desert highway that I found the inspiration for my story. The usual scene of camels resting under a Ghaf Tree made me wonder…. “What if..there were a few more trees? Would we have found birds and other animals too in the desert?” Soon, ‘The Green Warrior’, the story of Salma and her determination to create a safe habitat for animals was formed.
My teacher was excited to read my story and submitted it in the VoFG website towards the end of March . As it was an early submission, I bagged an exclusive one to one online feedback session with the VoFG team in April, where all the best parts of my story were pointed out to me and then some tips were given to improve it even more. I resubmitted my improved story later that month.
And then on the 12th of August came the mail that changed my world.. The Green Warrior was in the top ten stories that were being send to the international commission!!! We were all invited to the Award Ceremony at the Zabeel Ladies Club on 27th September. The Green Warrior won the award for ‘The Most Captivating Setting’. But that was not all! My joy knew no bounds when at the end of the nail-biting ceremony I was announced the Gold Medalist of the VoFG Arabia 2020.
Voice of Saira Thomas
Saira Thomas is a bubbly, friendly girl from Our Own English High School, Sharjah . Her favourite hobby is reading and she aspires to become a world renowned author. Her dream is to popularise vegetarianism because she believes that it can make the world a better place. Saira is 10 years old.
