Nyeri, 15th April 2026 ...As the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival draws to a close, competitions in the Lower Primary, ECDE, and Upper Primary categories have concluded and moved into the awarding stage.
Adjudicators praised teachers for nurturing young performers, while emphasizing the importance of age-appropriate content and safe, simple staging to build learners’ confidence.
Overcoming Faith School from Bunyore, Western Kenya, emerged as one of the biggest winners at the 64th edition of the festival, as the Lower Primary, ECDE, and Pre-School categories wrapped up at Kagumo TTC.
The school delivered a commanding performance in the pre-school categories, winning the overall Singing Games title with My Savings. It also scooped awards for Best Costume and Décor, Most Creative Dance, and Best Choreography.
In Choral Verse, the school excelled with Cha Kitoto, taking first place in Best Kiswahili Choral Verse, finishing second in both Most Creative Choral Verse and Best Costume and Décor, and placing second overall. It capped off its success by winning the top Equity Award in the Pre-School Singing Games category.
Performances by Overcoming Faith School and other institutions reflected this year’s festival theme, Driving Kenya’s Development Through Theatre and Film, alongside Equity Bank’s sub-theme, Leveraging Technology to Make Banking a Lifestyle.
Across categories, participants explored practical and relatable concepts such as saving culture, digital banking, insurance awareness, and financial responsibility often presented through child-friendly narratives.
Many entries also aligned with Competency-Based Education (CBE) by emphasizing communication, creativity, and problem-solving, while integrating technology into everyday life. This demonstrated how young learners are interpreting national development priorities through performance.
Other institutions also stood out during the awards. St Mary’s Kibuye dominated the Solo Verse category in the Lower Primary and ECDE section with The Apple. Meanwhile, Green Vale from Rift Valley impressed in Choral Verse with Baiskeli, winning ahead of Ebusamba’s Tetha za Meno and Albertos School’s Sadaka, which placed second and third respectively.
Trainers were also recognized, receiving cash awards across the top three positions. Equity Bank Head of Education, Peter Ndoro, said the initiative aims to promote financial skills and ambition among learners, positioning them as future drivers of economic growth.
Under Equity Bank’s financial literacy theme, special awards were presented to performances that best integrated money management skills and responsible decision-making. The top prize of Ksh100,000 and a trophy went to Overcoming Faith School for My Savings, with trainer Ongachi Alice receiving Ksh30,000.
Second-place winners each received Ksh50,000 and a trophy. These included Kitengela International (Athi River, Machakos County) for The Golden Piggy Bank, Kericho Primary for Piggy Banky, and Moi Forces Academy for The Magic Box. Their trainers, Michael Ouma and Deborah Tangus each received Ksh10,000, while Karen Aroom was awarded Ksh20,000.
Third-place schools - GSU Kimbo for Twendeni and Nakuru Lions for Saving Stars - each received Ksh30,000 and a trophy. Their trainers, Gladys Kambua and Faith Okoth, were awarded Ksh10,000 each.
Reaffirming Equity’s commitment, Peter Ndoro noted that the initiative is designed to nurture talent while linking creative expression to economic growth.
“We want this to be a catalyst for the economic development of our country. That is why we are giving this support. When schools win and teachers win, we believe future festivals will be even better - and ultimately, we will build a country we can all be proud of.”
