The Sunday Mail
Melody Madzika – Leisure Reporter
The annual Sunday Mail Baby of the Year competition reaches its climax this Saturday with the announcement of winners at a ceremony to be held at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare.
The hunt for the cutest tots, which started early August this year, has seen hundreds of entries submitted and the newspaper supplements are on sale for readers to vote for their favourite baby.
This year’s competition comprises two categories: 0-12 months old and 13-24 months old.
The selection committee chooses the best three babies in each category according to smartness, character and personality. Another first for this year is the separation of boys and girls – with the two sexes competing in their own categories.
“Girls have been having an unfair advantage over boys in the past, which saw many girls winning the prizes while boys went home empty-handed. This time around we have decided that girls battle among themselves and the boys do likewise,” said Zimpapers business manager (promotions) Mrs Charity Gwata-Chirume.
She added: “We also want to encourage parents and guardians to appreciate the beauty of the baby boy.”
Mrs Chirume said the deadline for voting is Tuesday December 2, 2014.
“Voters must return their slips to Herald House before December 2 and the announcement of winners will be on December 6 at Rainbow Towers,” she said.
The winners of the competition in the two categories will receive US$500 from Zimpapers. Apart from the US$500 from Zimpapers, upmarket early education institution Ashimil Pre-School is also sponsoring the winners with a free term of schooling, which is worth US$1 200.
Deco-Den, a company that specialises in decor, will adorn the Rainbow Towers venue on the big day.
The Sunday Mail has also partnered with Jet Stores which makes this year’s edition bigger and more exciting than ever before. Jet Stores are the largest suppliers of family wear in the Southern Africa region.
Mrs Chirume said of the partnership, “Jet Stores has offered us a platform to grow, we partnered with it because of their network. Jet is everywhere so almost everyone will have the access to enter into the competition.”
