5-year-old wins CAN Rising Stars contest
It was an evening of smiles, joy and hugs on Sunday as five-year-old Nomsa Thyangathyanga scooped Channel for All Nations’ (CAN) Rising Stars Kids Competition grand prize.
The little girl amazed spectators and judges with her dancing antics from start to finish in the competition which attracted 25 contestants.
The competition ran for one month from August 14 and saw five contestants being evicted each week with the five finalists lining up last Sunday.
“It was a month of excitement and joy seeing kids from the ages of five to 13 showcasing their talents before a huge crowd. I am happy that we have achieved what we wanted,” said CAN managing director Mphatso Chidothe.
The competition involved different categories ranging from dancing, singing and playing musical instruments.
Thyangathyanga received K500 000 (US$1 214) as prize money plus a weekend at Beach Villa Lodge with her family.
Her father, Alexander, said the family had always had faith she would make it.
He said his daughter has an inborn dancing talent and her antics amaze even her own family members.
“She just likes dancing a lot and she is good at it. The moment we heard there was going to be a talent competition, we knew she would triumph and we encouraged her to join,” he said.
Other winners in the competition were Tiyamike Kapina, who came second and received a K200 000 (US$485) shopping voucher and Amaka Duru who received a K100 000 (US$243) shopping voucher.
Kapina was recognised for her golden voice when singing and apart from the second prize, she also won an 18 months recording deal with Nyanja Music Company.
Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism Elsie Tembo hailed the competition saying its one way of promoting talent among the youth.
Tembo said if children are groomed while still young they become experts in arts when they grow thereby promoting tourism activities in the country.
