Phillip takes junior extempo crown

Visually impaired 18-year-old Kishon Phillip is the new National Junior Extempo Monarch for 2019.

In his first year at the University of the Southern Caribbean studying Psychology, Phillip urged other visually impaired students not to lose hope or give up on their dreams.

Phillip beat 15 other contestants to take the title yesterday at the Cipriani Labour College, Valsayn.

In the final round of the competition, Phillip battled one of his best friends Isaiah John a student from Arima North Secondary, who placed second, while Josiah Kennedy from St James Secondary placed third.

Phillip said, “I have achieved my goal. I have been in the completion since its conception in 2016 and hopefully I will be moving on to the senior competition soon. It have nothing called boundaries and limitation as a visually impaired person.

“I will tell anyone to put their best foot forward because if you have a dream, just as I had a dream of winning this competition one day. Believe me, I was sick for days just thinking about this competition and this morning when I woke up I told myself I am going to put my best foot forward. Put your best foot forward and never give up and never lose hope.”

John told Newsday he was elated to have been placed second because he knew how hard Phillip worked and that he deserved first place.

“I am happy that I came second in the competition while Kishon held his own. He deserves to win and I am happy we have been keeping in touch throughout the competition. We are very close as it comes to the art form. This is something we both a have a passion for and I hope it can only get better.”

After being awarded the People’s Choice and placing third, Kennedy said he would not only be in the competition for 2010 but would coming out better to take the title.

Former President Anthony Carmona said the competition was absolutely phenomenal because other students had seen the ascendancy of a person with a disability wining the junior extempo crown.

Carmona said it was good to see students following in the footsteps of Calypsonian Lingo.

He congratulated Lingo for the excellent job he was doing with people with disabilities and those who were visually impaired.

“It is a demographic that we sometimes treat with apathy and indifference and I feel that there is a need for them to be included in our society. They are people, and you must treat people like people regardless of their disability.

“In fact, signing off and ratifying the convention on people with disabilities is not enough. We need to do more. We need to integrate them in our society in a way that demonstrates their innate philosophy. They don’t want charity, they want opportunity. They don’t want compassion they want love.”