{"id":16010,"date":"2016-05-28T23:28:05","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T23:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=16010"},"modified":"2016-05-28T23:29:28","modified_gmt":"2016-05-28T23:29:28","slug":"spelling-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/spelling-finals","title":{"rendered":"A 14-Year-Old Ghanaian Girls Reaches The United States Spelling Competition Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a prestigious spelling competition held annually in the United States. Though it is a national U.S. competition, some contestants travel from countries like The Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, and New Zealand. Children up to the age of 15 who have won a regional spelling bee are allowed to compete. In the last nine years, several students from Ghana have competed to this event. This year,\u00a014-year-old Afua Ansah made it further than any Ghanaian contestant in history, making it all the way to the finals before being eliminated.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Beating the odds<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At 71.4%, Ghana has one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world. Afua\u2019s coach, Emmanual Afful, challenged his pupil to beat the odds. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cThe thing I told her is that, \u2018Children in America are no different than children around the world. The only difference is we are poorer at reading and writing. And so I posed a challenge to her to read, study, ask question and be curious and you\u2019ll be there and that is exactly what happened,\u201d he said.<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Afua correctly spelled difficult words such as \u201chauberk\u201d and \u201csenescent\u201d and made it to the top 45. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16013\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16013\" style=\"width: 706px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-16013\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/2013-05-29t125928z_1_cbre94s103900_rtroptp_4_usa.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"706\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/2013-05-29t125928z_1_cbre94s103900_rtroptp_4_usa.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/2013-05-29t125928z_1_cbre94s103900_rtroptp_4_usa-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/2013-05-29t125928z_1_cbre94s103900_rtroptp_4_usa-85x48.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rantlifestyle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/2013-05-29T125928Z_1_CBRE94S103900_RTROPTP_4_USA.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Beyond her wildest dreams<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The press was eager to talk to the first Ghanaian finalist in history. She held her nation\u2019s flag while answering questions from reporters. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIt felt incredibly exciting, it was beyond my wildest dreams, to finally make it on my first try. \u00a0It has been quite intense because we have been working on the word list for quite some time,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16014\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16014\" style=\"width: 702px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-16014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/cjx3ey4ukaeufxp.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"702\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/cjx3ey4ukaeufxp.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/cjx3ey4ukaeufxp-85x64.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/CjX3eY4UkAEufxp.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>An inspiration<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Afua was excited to represent her country and experience the U.S. for the first time. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cI am feeling very proud to be doing this on behalf of my country. \u00a0I feel like an ambassador of Ghana so I am proud to carry the flag of my country at the finals,\u201d she said as she expressed gratitude for her sponsors. \u201cGhana doesn\u2019t have much of sponsorship as it does here&#8230;I have gotten some calls from my country, we see you here, we see you on the website.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16015\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16015\" style=\"width: 716px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-16015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/mdjm112-526_2016_161904.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"716\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/mdjm112-526_2016_161904.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/mdjm112-526_2016_161904-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/mdjm112-526_2016_161904-85x57.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16015\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vmcdn.ca\/f\/files\/shared\/feeds\/cp\/2016\/05\/mdjm112-526_2016_161904.jpg;w=630\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>History has been made<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Unfortunately, Afua was not one of the winners this year. She was eliminated after misspelling \u201cLiechtenstein.\u201d However, the fact that she made it to the finals on her first try is quite a feat; many children try multiple times before making it so far. And Afua has already made a major accomplishment &#8211; &#8220;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She made history<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u201d her sponsor, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, said. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u00a0&#8220;She&#8217;s brought so much honor, not just for her country, but for the continent.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16016\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16016\" style=\"width: 729px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-16016\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/afua-ansah-manukure.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"729\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/afua-ansah-manukure.jpg 644w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/afua-ansah-manukure-600x331.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/05\/afua-ansah-manukure-85x47.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 729px) 100vw, 729px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16016\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/static.pulse.com.gh\/img\/incoming\/origs5078043\/165636645-w644-h960\/Afua-Ansah-Manukure.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/achievers-ghana\">SEE ALSO:\u00a0Achievers Ghana, The NGO That Is Educating Girls The Slums Of Ghana.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a prestigious spelling competition held annually in the United<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":16017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[35],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A 14-Year-Old Ghanaian Girls Reaches The United States Spelling Competition Finals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a prestigious spelling competition held annually in the United States.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/spelling-finals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A 14-Year-Old Ghanaian Girls Reaches The United States Spelling 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