7:30am Monday 26th July 2010
By Nola Ojomu
A 15-year-old student won third place at the Jack Petchey speak out challenge with a first-hand account of the war in Sierra Leone.
Mayward Martindale, who goes to Norbury Manor College, gave an emotional speech called The Cruelty of War in which she spoke about her own experience in Sierra Leone.
Mayward said: “It was my experience and I am very passionate about it.
“The life I had in Sierra Leone was destroyed when it became a war-torn country with mass killing and cruelty. I witnessed some dreadful things and this gave me an opportunity to express myself.”
Christine De Cruz, the SpeakersBank trainer who worked with Mayward said: “I shall remember Mayward and her speech for ever.
“Her story was and is amazing and she delivered it with passion and skill – she blew the whole class away .”
She won a trophy and £150.
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