by Rubin Ferrao
KUWAIT, JUNE 1, 2018: The Catechism Ministry of the St. Therese of Child Jesus Parish in Kuwait, in its endeavor to develop an interest for God's Word in the hearts and minds of children, organised the second Mega Bible Quiz (MBQ 2018) on May 18 and 25.
The Mega Bible Quiz was conducted on two days so as to include all the children from grades 1 to 11. Designed around thirty-four characters from the Old and New Testament, preparation began in October 2017.
Help was sought from the Bible study class in the parish, as each student took on a character and identified key points of information. Another team helped prepare creative question styles and formats like word search, crosswords, jumbled letters etc. Yet another team was responsible for proof reading and editing. All this information was then passed on to the tech team for uploading the data to a specially designed website. After some rigorous testing, MBQ 2018 was ready for launch!
Junior MBQ was held on May 18 for grades 1 to 5. Senior MBQ on May 25 was for grades 6 to 11. Students who had secured the highest marks in the two Bible tests qualified for the MBQ. For each MBQ, four teams – Hope, Peace, Joy and Love - with 10 participants from different age groups in each team, were made.
Two parents of the participants volunteered to be the coordinators of their respective teams. Shareen Sequeira, coordinator of Joy team said, "It was a wonderful experience for me and I enjoyed every bit of it as I guided my team. The MBQ 2018 was well planned and executed with passion and brilliant time management".
Each day, the children waited with bated breath for the four Quiz Masters and the MC. After the opening prayers by Father Lionel Braganza on day one, and Father Restituto Ogsimer on day two, the MCs and the quizmasters took over.
There were a total of eight rounds spanning five hours. Each round had a different set of guidelines and quiz formats so as to keep all the participants engaged. Some of the activities were individual and some involved team effort. There were questions and prizes for the audience too. So there was learning and excitement all around!
The day's MBQ concluded with a prize distribution ceremony and encouraging addresses from the Chief Guests Father Franco Pereira on day one and Father Derek Misquita on day 2. Both Salesians stressed the importance of the Word of God and reading the Holy Bible.
On Day one, the Love team were champions followed by the Joy team. Day two saw the Hope team taking away the Champion Trophy followed by the Joy team. "I was happy and blessed to be chosen from my class at the MBQ 2018. We were the champions but most of all I came closer to God through the reading of the Holy Bible," Coral Jean Rego, a class nine participant, said.
At the end of each MBQ, the parish priest thanked the organisers and all those who helped design the MBQ. In all, there were over 100 people involved in organising MBQ 2018. "Being a part of the core team for MBQ 2018, has helped me understand the importance of team work. God bless all the parishioners who have put a lot of time and their effort to make it a success," Mark Robert, the coordinator of the MBQ 2018, said.