The story of Miriam Zgambo, 24, who graduated with a distinction from the University of Livingstonia on Friday last week, starts from Zeleza Moyo, a rural village in Inkosi Mzikubola in Mzimba District.
It is a demonstration of how determination on the part of the learner and collective effort by the community can transform lives of the underprivileged in society.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Zgambo as the eldest of seven children, Miriam’s dream and journey of furthering her education was fraught with economic hardships. But with her unshaken resolve and support from Bana ba kwa Mzikubola Trust (BMT), and others before the Trust, she has not only achieved her dream, but is now an inspiration to her community, and Malawi at large.
Miriam hoped from one primary school to another—Vigwagwa, Vibangalala, Nkolokoti, Naotcha and Ndaba—before being nestled at Mzimba Secondary School in 2015. Passing the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations in 2019 with 15 points, but 13 in her best six subjects without English, she was the highest for girls at the school.
Despite passing with good grades, Miriam was not selected to further her studies at a public university.
Miriam says her failure to get selected to university literally switched her mind off from school to marriage. The fact of the matter is that her parents, subsistence farmers, who had failed to pay for her secondary school education, could not afford to pay for her studies at a university let alone at a private university.
“What else was there to do?” she argued in an earlier interview in 2020.
Said Miriam: “All along there had been enormous pressure from almost everybody in the village and peers from surrounding areas for me to get married, especially that all my age mates are married; and girls younger than me were also getting married.’’
It was at that point that Miriam gave her boyfriend the green light to pay lobola. And the man wasted little time to do the needful.
Indeed, with no role model from her village to look up to on the benefits of attaining tertiary education, coupled with pressure from parents and peers alike, the immediate option that presented itself was marriage.
“After they paid lobola, we planned to get married the following year,” said Miriam, who is the first-born in a family of six children; two boys and four girls.
Beacon of hope
It was at this critical time that Bana ba kwa Mzikubola Trust (BMT) intervened, offering her a lifeline. Recognising Miriam’s potential, the trust extended a full scholarship for her to study for a Bachelor of Education in Science at the University of Livingstonia. For Miriam, this intervention was nothing short of a miracle.
BMT was established to promote and uplift educational, agricultural, health, environmental, climate change, cultural and artistic activities within the jurisdiction of Inkosi Mzikubola, in Mzimba District. The trust offers scholarships to five learners from each of the eight Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) in the Traditional Authority. The Trust has also renovated or built a number of teachers’ houses in the jurisdiction of Inkosi Mzikubola.
In the past five years of its existence, the group has sponsored 85 learners of their secondary education. The learners are identified on merit based on their performance in their form three end-of-year examination results.
The Trust has also undertaken a number of reforestation projects implemented in several schools in the area where it has planted over 10 000 trees.
But Miriam’s case required a different kind of intervention from those the Trust was offering to learners. She needed substantial resources upfront every semester.
Under the stewardship of Trust chairperson Micheck Chisi, the group’s members rallied together to start raising the funds for her education. Chisi led a concerted and coordinated effort to ensure that all necessary expenses, including school fees, accommodation, transportation, upkeep, and even stationery, were covered.
“I want to acknowledge and express my profound gratitude to Trust’s members, both locally and in diaspora, for their unwavering support throughout Miriam’s university journey,”Chisi said on Friday last week, underscoring the collective power of their generosity.
“This was exceptional from some individuals who committed to ensuring that what was started had to be taken to its logical end.”
Recounting the support she has received from the Trust, Miriam speaks with heartfelt gratitude for the group’s unwavering support.
“They treated me like their own child,” she reflects. From tuition to daily necessities, the Trust’s commitment to seeing me through my studies was all-encompassing.’’
To BMT, Miriam offers this final message: “Thank you for transforming my life. Your selfless efforts have made a significant impact on me and my future. I encourage you to continue empowering underprivileged students, especially girls, so that they, too, can realise their dreams.”
Graduating with a first class grade—the only one out of a class of 22 students who got a distinction—was a personal triumph for Miriam but also a testament to the Trust’s faith in her. She is the only graduate out of a class of 22 students who got a distinction.
Her achievements have not only fulfilled her ambitions but also brought honour to the community that rallied around her.
But BMT is not the first to impact Miriam’s life and education. Back when she was in Form Two, Mr. Noel Kapito came to her rescue after her uncle who had paid her school fees in Form One told her he could no longer support her education.
“I was studying at University of Livingstonia and I was doing my Teaching Practice at Mzimba Secondary School where I was teaching Chemistry. I gave my Form 2 class a Chemistry assignment and promised to pay school fees for two students who would score highest marks in the assignment,” Kapito said in an interview in 2020.
“Coincidentally, Miriam was one of the two students, one male and one female. The boy was Madalitso Mwale. For me, all I wanted was to thank God for what he had done to me when I was in a similar situation.
“Both parents died in a space of three months when I was in Standard 7 and thereafter it was well-wishers and my church parents from St Columba CCAP in Blantyre who supported me in my education all the way to college,” enthused Kapito.
Giving Back: A vision for the future
Now a graduate, Miriam is driven by a desire to give back to her community. She envisions herself pursuing a master’s degree, and eventually a PhD, to further her impact. Her long-term goal is to contribute to BMT, to ensure that other deserving students receive the same support that changed her life. As the first graduate from her village, she also hopes to inspire a new generation of students to pursue education as a path to a better future.
Miriam’s story exemplifies resilience and the power of community support. She aspires to build on this momentum, advocating for more educational opportunities for girls in her village and beyond. Through her future contributions to the trust, she aims to create a ripple effect that will empower countless other students to chase their dreams.
In an interview, the guest of honour on her graduation Professor Richard Mkandawire underscored the privilege that befell Miriam emphasizing that there are several girls out there who have not chanced such a heavenly gift through BMT. He encouraged the trust’s executives to continue the noble cause of supporting such under privileged children in communities.
“This is a remarkable demonstration of the role grass root communities can play and should play in empowering girls to advance their education. If it were not for the catalytic role Mzikubola Trust played Miriam would have gone into unnecessary marriage which would have jeopardized her future and that of her children.
“Young women of the calibre of Miriam deserve the support of us all. My very best wishes to Miriam whom we see as a natural champion for girls’ education in Malawi.”
Recognising her achievements, Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa V has appointed Miriam Ending Child Marriages Ambassador for the chiefdom.
In a statement on Tuesday this week the Mzimba Ngoni Paramount Chief, who is also championing the fight against child marriages in the district, said he will be working hand-in-hand with Miriam to mobilise community members on the importance of sending girls to school and ending child marriages.
‘’I want to congratulate Miriam Zgambo for graduating at Unilia. Her story is both amazing and a powerful one for this generation as well as for generations to come.’’
