Dr Om Foundation distributes awards to the winners nationwide school level competitions

KATHMANDU, March 10: Dr. Om Foundation distributed prizes to the winners of the school-level nationwide competitions.

Cash prizes, certificates and medals were awarded to the winners of poetry, painting, and participation answer competition amidst a special function organized on Saturday with the presence of Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology Suresh Adhikari  as chief guest.

Marking the occasion of Saraswati Puja and Valentine’s Day, the Foundation organized a school-level open nationwide poetry, children’s painting, and participation answer competition against smoking and tobacco consumption. Along with the winning students of all three categories, their parents and teachers, Education Secretary Adhikari and the founder of the foundation, Dr. Om Murthy Anil, presented the cash prize, medal, and certificate.

Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, Education Secretary Adhikari said that smoking not only affects human health but also causes family stress and financial loss, so it is necessary to avoid it now. Because smoking, tobacco, and alcohol consumption lead to social animosity, psychological effects, family stress, environmental pollution, etc., the students were of the opinion that initiatives should be taken to stop it in society.

He also congratulated the awarded students and commended the students who participated in the competition, saying that the results were obtained as a result of the hard work done by the students for social awareness in the regular curriculum as well as extracurricular activities on useful life issues.

Likewise, the founder of the Foundation, Dr. Om Murti Anil, informed that a two-week long awareness campaign ‘Smokers are not selfish’ and a school health program ‘school-level open nationwide poetry, children’s painting, and quiz competition’ were organized to discourage smoking and tobacco consumption. In this campaign, about 1,800 people have registered their names with the foundation, pledging to give up smoking and tobacco use.

According to the Foundation, among the winners of the poetry competition are Siddika Shah, a class 6 student of Clinton School Chabahil Kathmandu, Koshi St. James Residential Higher Secondary School Purnima Gautam, a student of class 7 Itahari, St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School Lalitpur class 7 student Eva Poudel, John Dewey Higher Secondary School Shasrika Khatri, a student of Maharajgunj class 9 and Chandni Pal, a student of Capital College and Research Center (CCRC) Balkumari class 12. Students of up to 12th grade of schools across the country participated in the poetry competition with a message about the health effects of smoking and tobacco consumption. A cash prize of 10,000 rupees, certificates, and medals were given to the best composers.

Similarly, Pristi Pun, a student of class 5 of Deep Boarding School, Butwal, and Devesh Pahari, a student of class 4 of Fishtail Academy Secondary School, Pokhara, were the winners in the children’s painting competition. Also among the runners-up are NIST School Lokantali, Bhaktapur Class 4 student Pallabi Bhattarai, Vedic School Balkot, Bhaktapur Class 6 student Samridhi Shrestha, Salyan Public School Shankhamul, Salyan Class 6 student Elina Budhathoki, Ripumardini Sainik College Bansbari, Kathmandu Class 6 student Jessica Thapa, South Zone Secondary School Veerganj Class 6 student Ankit Sah, and Om Shanti Academy Bharatpur, Chitwan Class 8 student Salin Acharya.

Students up to class 8 from all over the country participated in the drawing competition that reflects the effects of smoking and tobacco consumption on the health of users, family, and friends. The winning students were given a cash prize of 10,000 rupees each, and the runner-up was given Rs 2,500 as an incentive along with a certificate and medal.

Similarly, in the quiz competition related to the effects of smoking and tobacco consumption and health education, students up to class 12 from all over the country formed three-member groups and participated. In the competition, Kathmandu Model College Baghbazar, Kathmandu got first, Siddharth Vanasthali Institute Kathmandu got second, and Gyan Jyoti Higher Secondary School along with Panchodaya Higher Secondary School Dhangadhi shared the third position. In this competition, the first prize is Rs.50,000, the second prize is Rs.30,000, and the third prize is Rs.20,000. All categories of competitions were conducted through ‘virtual’ means.

Dr. Anil, a renowned cardiologist in the country, founded the Dr. Om Foundation in 2023 with a focus on health, education, and social transformation. The foundation conducts free health camps, offers medication to those in need, and raises health awareness through campaigns. It provides free telemedicine services to migrant health workers outside Nepal. Recently, it successfully ran an anti-smoking campaign titled “Smokers Are Not Selfish.”