Olive Branch Church · Essay Competition
2020 · Prize: NPR 3,75,000 · Winner: Priya Thapa
Few years have tested communities as 2020 did. The "Strength in Adversity" competition was launched in April of that year, at a moment when Olive Branch Church — like much of the world — was navigating profound uncertainty. Rather than cancel the competition, the church committee decided it was more important than ever to give young people a place to process, reflect, and write.
The competition was held entirely online for the first time. Submissions were received via email, and judging was conducted virtually by a five-member panel that included, for the first time, a judge from outside Nepal — a Nepali academic based in Australia.
67 entries were received — a strong response given the circumstances — reflecting both the expanded online format and the urgency of the theme.
How faith sustains individuals and communities in the face of hardship.
Writers were encouraged to approach the theme through personal narrative, theological reflection, argumentative essay, or a combination of these forms.
Word limit: 600 – 2,500 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:
Priya Thapa, then 23, was a social work student at a college in Pokhara. Her essay, "The Lamp Does Not Argue with the Dark," was a first-person account of supporting her community during an exceptionally difficult period — running food errands for elderly neighbours, coordinating informal support networks over the phone, and finding that her faith deepened precisely in the moments she expected it to fail. The judges described it as "the kind of essay that makes you want to become a better person." Priya subsequently joined the church's community care programme as a volunteer coordinator.