Here at Daastan, we have a tradition of hosting innovative writing contests. Therefore, we kick-started this year with the thematic campaign Pen A Friend. It is a contest that inspired the concept of “Letter writing amidst Covid-19.”
Let’s have a recap of our first thematic campaign of 2021!
What is Pen A Friend?
I am sure at some point in our lives we have all written a letter. However, the age of technology has almost diminished this practice. Pen a Friend is an ode to the golden memories of letter writing. In the month of January, we wanted to address the topic of Covid-19 through our campaign. And that’s how Pen A Friend was born!
Pen A Friend Live Session
To make the campaign interactive, Daastan hosted a live session on Facebook. Our Marketing Associate, Noor ul Huda Tahir shared some of her memories attached with letter writing. She loves writing and receiving letters. Moreover, she believes letter writing is an act of catharsis for the sender and receiver. Our host encouraged the viewers to share their letter stories too.These are some of those stories.
- “I have never written a letter but I do leave handwritten notes for my husband on the bedside table. I guess that counts.” – Unknown
- “I used to write letters to my brother.” – Mustafa
- “Writing is the medium that makes me comfortable to express myself.” – Mariam
Flow of Entries
Our live session doubled the excitement around the campaign. The response we received from people was amazing. A lot of people sent in beautifully written letters. They were addressed to their loved ones, Covid-19 and to God.
The Finalists
After much thought, we present to you the winners of the Pen A Friend campaign. Since the letters were in both Urdu and English, we chose the best from both categories separately.
The winners of English letters are:
- Shumayla Marium
- Ajwah Nadeem
- Abdul Moiz
As for Urdu, we have:
- Humaira Tehseen
- Samiya Ali
- Hania Irmiya
Daastan congratulates the winners and wishes them the best of luck.
Surprise Announcement regarding Pen A Friend
It’s time for a surprise announcement! We know you are curious to read the beautiful letters that made it to the finale. The letters have been compiled into an eBook by our team so that they are forever preserved. Stay tuned for the ebook launch!
