#LettersWeNeverSent Competition Winners, and Thank You!!

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THANK YOU; ALL PARTICIPANTS OF THE “LETTERS WE NEVER SENT” COMPETITION

There is a certain beauty in existence that one cannot fathom unless they took a peek through a telescope. A vast world of infinite possibilities is something only a few were meant to indulge. When we invited people to write “The Letters We never Sent”, we hoped to open a small space for honest contemplation, and yet, what we received was far more powerful than expected. Voices that chose courage over silence, whispers that shared words that had been waiting for years to be written.

Through my brief glimpse through the telescope, I saw love, regret, forgiveness, grief and conversations that ached to be finished. The discomfort and silences that filled the rooms will always haunt me for the rest of my days. Its not every day that one must face the uncomfortable dragons of our existence. One may say that “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies,” I’d say I lived a thousand heartbreaks in these few days.

This writing competition is built around the theme of my short film, Dear Darling, my own letter to a lost loved one. It explores my guilt, longing, and conversations never had. My heart burns at the thought of losing another soul to the silence. As the story explores the value of one’s life to the people around them, I couldn’t help but submit to my selfish desire to keep all the people that I love close to me.

My dream with all these projects is to encourage people to speak about their difficult emotions. Let that voice find the heart it was meant to save. Truth be told, every time I wanted to let go, it was always the distant call of being wanted that pulled me back. I hope that your letters not only brought your hearts rest, but also bring the world one more step closer to healing as a whole. May the people that wanted to hide finally step out; may the ghosts that vanished find some peace, and may those that hurt us change their ways.

Winners

Best Letter Never Sent: 

T. Okileng – The Letter L 

(UGX 150,000)

• Quality of the submission (typos, grammar, creativity) 
• Input from our panel of judges and sponsoring partners

With “The Letter L”, this is a storyteller with ideas. And then the ending…what we felt could not be put into words. We spent the whole piece falling in love alongside him and then the phone call comes: “She’s gone. It was an accident.” No warning, no build-up, just a gut punch. It felt like he’d written over a thousand letters to someone who can never read them. This piece is real.

Best Letter Never Sent Runner Up: 

Lus The Poet – How we Became Past Tense 

(UGX 100,000)

With “How we Became Past Tense”; 3 letters written across real dates – August 2025, January 2026, February 2026 – tracing a relationship dying in real time. Nobody else in this competition thought to do that. Each letter is clearly unsent: these are private breakdowns, not things you hand to someone. taken together the three letters achieve something no single entry can: you watch it fall apart. The “never sent” element is airtight – these are letters you write at midnight and delete in the morning.

People’s Choice Never Sender:

Deograsius Latimson – I DELETED OUR WEDDING DATE FIRST.

 (UGX 150,000)

• Number of views, comments and shares for all posts submitted for the competition
• Quality of the submissions (typos, grammar, creativity)
• Input our sponsoring partners

With “I DELETED OUR WEDDING DATE FIRST” the author presents a fella exploring suppresed emotions about his to be wife who abandoned him for a man and then returns upon realisng the grass is not greener on the other side. This heart wrenching letter managed to get over 3.4k views and 119 comments at the time of publishing this, easily dominating and winning the peoples choice award.

Congratulations!!

The winners will receive an email from Muwado/BadidiTech with details on how to receive their winnings.

I would like to thank Muwado for hosting the competition. We are grateful for their belief on our project. I would like to extend my thanks to Sisi Film Collective for supporting the development of our film in spite of its unorthodox nature.

In this light, I would like to extend an invitation to readers who may like to continue the journey. Updates concerning Dear Darling’s progress shall be extended to readers through Muwado and our social media platforms.

Deeper details on the project shall be accessed through our exclusive, members only WhatsApp group, where videos, behind the scenes and articles shall be shared with participants. Of course, access to which involves a small donation to our cause. Perks include mentions in the credits, and special access to its first screening.  For any interested in this offer, please register your details via the link; Exclusive WhatsApp group

Written by

Mugabe Victor

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