Olive Branch Church · Essay Competition
2010 · Prize: NPR 3,50,000 · Winner: Prabin Thapa
"Created to Serve" was the 2010 competition, held during the church's landmark Green Sanctuary campaign year. The theme was chosen to connect faith with environmental and social responsibility — reflecting the church's growing conviction that stewardship of the earth and care for neighbours are inseparable from the Gospel.
Writers were encouraged to explore stewardship broadly: of natural resources, of relationships, of time, talent, and community. The competition attracted 74 entries — the largest field to date — drawing students from eight schools and three colleges in Pokhara.
The competition was judged by a seven-member panel, including two environmental educators and a representative from the Pokhara Municipal Environment Office.
Our shared call to stewardship — caring for creation, community, and one another.
Writers were encouraged to approach the theme through personal narrative, theological reflection, argumentative essay, or a combination of these forms.
Word limit: 1,000 – 3,000 words · Language: English, Nepali, or bilingual
All submissions are reviewed by a panel of church elders, educators, and community representatives. Entries are scored across four weighted criteria:
Prabin Thapa, aged 21, was studying environmental science and had been volunteering with the church's Green Sanctuary tree-planting initiative since its launch. His winning essay, "The Garden and the City," drew parallels between the Garden of Eden and the call to tend our urban communities with the same care. The judges praised the essay's scholarship, its poetic sensibility, and its practical closing section on community action. Prabin later went on to work with a local conservation NGO.