James Manzi, a second-year student of economics and statistics at Makerere University, is still excited about his feat.
He will be traveling to China in August, after winning a competition set by Makerere’s Confucius Institute, recently. To get to this level, 21-year old Manzi beat 37 others in various levels. He came fifth in a written exam, before winning a poetry recitation, and a cultural dance competition as well as an oral exam on Chinese current affairs.
Manzi said he loves Chinese dress, food, culture and was inspired after getting struck on seeing many banners by Chinese companies that dot several construction sites in Kampala.
“I dream [of mastering the] Chinese language and also look forward to joining Tianjin University but before that, I would like to tour China and experience its marvels like the Great Wall of China,” he said.
“My father is a businessman … whenever he comes backs home, he speaks of his language barrier problems with Chinese colleagues. Whenever I visited him at his place of work, I would witness them communicating, using sign language and so my interest was born.”
The competition was held for students of Confucius Institute at Makerere University under the theme, Dreams Enlighten the Future. The country winners, drawn from across Africa, will take part in a subsequent competition at Tianjin University in August. The winners at Tianjin will get scholarships for further study at this university.
The competitors were tested in their skills of the Chinese language, knowledge of China, Chinese cultural skills, and comprehensive abilities.
The vice president of China Association of Africa Studies, Prof Hong Yong Hong, who also chaired the panel of judges, said the competition was very stiff and appreciated the efforts of the Confucius Institute in training and developing the students to master Chinese language and culture.
“The show made me a little bit homesick ... [the] performance was very dramatic and charming,” he remarked.
Prof Yong Hong said the competition would continue to brigde ties between Uganda and China. The Confucius Institute is named after one of China’s renowned philosophers and offers a certificate and a diploma in the Chinese language at Makerere.
ssekandi@observer.ug