Meet My Campers

Ehetemarium Belestie, female, grade 11, age 18
Essay Topic Choice: Are condoms a good choice to protect against HIV? Why or why not?

Condoms are not a good choice to protect HIV.  Because we have other good choices for protecting HIV.  The first choice is 1 to 0.  It means you haven’t ferand.  This is a good choice for as a student because our country losses some thing about us and we have a responsible to pay something.  The second choice is one to one.  You looking for carfully and select your best choice.  The last and theered choice is using condom.  The is the dangerous method to protect ourselves.  But it is the good choice for the person don’t use condome.
My best choice is the first choice is mine.
Poem
Please Cool down
you are a young person
you are a new for things and sences
don’t fast to know a new thing
you must be cool down
the time is hot
all things waight for you
don’t find HIV
HIV is do not find you
don’t walk for find HIV
Please cool down
all things are waight for you

My comments: Ehetemarium really impressed me with her appropriate explanation of condom usage and other ways of preventing against HIV.  But most of all, I loved that she wrote down this poem! I’m not sure where she got the poem from—I assume it isn’t her original.  I also assume this isn’t a word-for-word rendition, but I really liked her creative approach!

Yonas Zeleke, male, grade 9, age 16
Essay Topic Choice: Are condoms a good choice to protect against HIV? Why or why not?

First we have to know that condom is not the only method to protect HIV.  As I know we have three main methods to protect against HIV.  The 1st one is to be totally free from sex.  But this method is not acceptable by many peoples b/c it is difficult to be free from sex.  I am also accept it.  Lets go to the 2nd method.  This method is to be free from sex until having marriage.  In my opinion this method is the best rather than the two. b/c when you get marriage you have to test whether you have within your blood or not. Then you can continue your life make protected.
Secondly people didn’t realize that condom is not 100% to protect against HIV.  The main important thing is that How can protect our self from HIV? If we couldn't do the above two methods it is better to use condom properly otherwise we go to face our disaster.  Generally condom is not 100% protect against HIV but it is successful.  If we use properly. let me return to my aim.  The better methods are the above two.  I want to rise something “life is greater than one minit happyness.”
In general condom is helpful if we use properly but it is not a good choice.  As I said earlier condom the last method but not the best. The reason it is better to be facefull for the cupple, (wife & husband). So condom is not the good choice rather than the two but it protects us from HIV if we use properly.

My comments: This was the very first essay I read and immediately knew he would be a finalist.  While reading the rest of the essays I kept thinking none was quite as good as the first.  His thoughts were well thought-out and he clearly expressed clever insights about condom usage and other HIV prevention methods.  The highlight for me definitely has to be “life is greater than one minit happyness.”  A close second was the quote, “If we couldn’t do the above two methods it is better to use condom properly otherwise we go to face our disaster.”

I think we could all learn a little something from these essays!