Launched in 2010, Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) is a comprehensive nutrition awareness program, which educates parents, teachers, and caregivers to induce a healthy lifestyle among school-going children. So far, the program has reached about 220,000 children and 1100 teachers in Pakistan. Education is a powerful tool for ensuring that children understand the value of nutrition and physical activity and continue leading healthy lives, as they grow older. Nestlé for Healthier Kids makes a collective effort with its partners to help address and overcome the nutrition challenge to give the children a happier and healthier future.
Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) essay writing competition was a constructive activity to engage the youth in a creative campaign during the pandemic as it continues to spread and confine people largely to their homes. The organization did this by presenting three essay topics; ‘POOR HYGIENE MAY INVITE MANY DISEASES,’ ‘SIGNIFICANCE OF IMMUNE SYSTEM,’ and ‘I HAVE TO STAY AT HOME BECAUSE OF SOME WIDESPREAD COMMUNICABLE DISEASE. I MUST PRACTICE SELF-CARE THROUGH HEALTHY AND STRESS-REDUCTION ACTIVITIES.’
This activity nurtured a healthy competition amongst the children and during the entire activity, they understood the importance of good nutrition and how it contributes towards a healthier immune system hence, fortifies ones’ protections against any virus. The children participating were asked to submit their essay entries of approximately 400 words to the N4HK Panel of Judges via email. In total, the participation for this event was quite large, with more than a thousand entries rolled from across Pakistan and from other countries including the Philippines, Qatar, Jordan, UAE, and the United States.
Children and youngsters spent their unending break in a learned and informed way. They were given a platform to communicate original ideas and construct meaningful, informative, and thought-provoking pieces of writing. Not only this, but the essay topics provided a perfect opportunity for the contestants to look up and do research on important topics which have become crucial in this prevailing current situation; the importance of good hygiene, the role of nutrition and healthy food choices to boost immunity and overcome diseases, and practicing self-care through healthy and stress reduction activities during this pandemic. Through awareness on such topics, children became more responsible and careful in a fear-stricken community from the virus.
Participants also learned to improve and expand their writing skills beyond the scope of their schools. This allowed children to engage with the community based on their understanding and broaden the scope of their critical thinking and creativity enhancement. Through participation, children found a platform to express themselves in a critically academic environment and got to feel a healthy sense of competition. More importantly, it instilled in the contestants a sense of excellence, as they were expected to write a piece of an exceptional standard in a national competition; these qualities are crucial to academic success, and this competition provided just that.
After a long, tough process and sifting through the unique and original work of Pakistan’s youth, the judges finally picked three winners and runners-up. The criteria of selection for the winners were showing an in-depth understanding of the topic and the ability to convey their points in exceptional writing. These essays also reflected the critical thought process and analytical abilities of the students as they perfectly dissected the topic of the essay. The contestants demonstrated a perfect understanding of what the judges were looking for in the essays. The competition was geared towards two age groups (10-12 years and 13-16 years) in each essay category. One winner and one runner-up were selected and announced from each age group in the Nestle essay writing contest.
| Essay Category | Age Group A (10-12) years | Age Group B (13-16) years |
| Essay Category I | Winner: Mariyaan Ali Imran Runner Up: Hana Nadeem
| Winner: Zainab Waheed Runner Up: Eeman Fatima
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| Essay Category II | Winner: Fareeha Salman Runner Up: Ahad Yunus Chohan | Winner: Shanzay Khan Runner Up: Salik Shoaib |
| Essay Category III | Winner: Ahmad Inam Runner Up: Muhammad Saad Saboor | Winner: Myra Aman Runner Up: Maha Faisal |
The top submissions in all three categories have been published on Nestlé Pakistan’s website here: bit.ly/31yoYwc.
Runners-ups will be receiving certificates of recognition and the first 100 entries will receive a certificate of participation from Nestlé Pakistan. Such recognition will pay off the efforts of the winners and motivate other children to work on their writing skills as well as educate themselves on pertinent issues.
Nestlé for Healthier Kids program (N4HK) is also committed to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of Good Health and Well-Being, to ensure that children understand the value of nutrition and physical activity and continue leading healthy lives, as they grow older. Nestlé for Healthier Kids makes a collective effort with its partners to help address and overcome the nutrition challenge to give the children a happier and healthier future.
