Olive Branch Church · Essay Competition
2006 · Prize: NPR 2,00,000 · Winner: Nabin Karki
The 2006 essay competition, themed "Living Faith," challenged participants to go beyond describing what they believe and instead explore how faith actively changes the way they live — in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.
Inspired by the Book of James ("faith without works is dead"), this competition sought essays that demonstrated the intersection of belief and action. It was our fifth year of ministry, and the competition had grown: 61 entries were received, more than double the first year.
Entries were reviewed by a five-person panel including two guest reviewers from the Pokhara Literature Society.
How active, living faith transforms the rhythms of everyday life.
Writers were encouraged to approach the theme through personal narrative, theological reflection, argumentative essay, or a combination of these forms.
Word limit: 800 – 2,000 words · Language: English or Nepali
All submissions are reviewed by a panel of church elders, educators, and community representatives. Entries are scored across four weighted criteria:
Nabin Karki, then 22, was a final-year college student in Pokhara and a member of the church's youth group. His essay — titled "The Street I Did Not Leave" — argued that choosing to stay in one's own neighbourhood, when leaving would have been easier, is itself an act of faith. It drew on his decision to turn down a job offer in Kathmandu to remain in Pokhara-9 and volunteer as a tutor for underprivileged students. The judges described it as "quietly powerful — a model of faith expressed in the unglamorous details of daily life, not in grand gestures."