Talented St Joseph’s School pupil Maia Gellegas got a surprise at the end of school assembly last week.
She was announced as the winner of the Lions Club of Ashburton County Peace Poster competition.
Maia said she loves art.
‘‘Doing art allows me to put my random ideas together to create something really nice,’’ she said.
She was encouraged to enter the peace poster competition by her mum’s friend County Lion member Jeanette Early.
When she was announced as the winner, she said it made her really, really happy.
This year’s theme for the competition is ‘‘together as one’’.
Maia said the hands on her poster represent the people all over the world coming together.
The earth is a puzzle with a different country on each puzzle piece.
This represents all the countries coming together uniting as one.
Maia, aged 12, also designed the back boards for her school’s basketball hoops.
Lions International say for peace to be anything more than a possibility, we need to make it a priority.
‘‘We asked the pupils to create a poster that speaks to our world’s infinite potential for kindness once we commit to pursuing the idea of peace without limits,’’ Lions said.
Maia’s entry will now join others from the Lions District with the winner from there going to the national competition and the winning entry from there joins entries from around the globe.
