Four years ago, Grace Munthali saw her dream of becoming an accountant slip away due to poverty.
The girl had worked hard day and night to get selected to Lilongwe Girls Secondary School, but her parents could not afford her educational needs.
“I reported for Form One three weeks after the opening of the first term. My parents tried their best, but could only find transport money and two tablets of soap. I went to school without fees and pocket money,” she recalls.
Grace’s desperation worsened when she lost her father months afterwards, pushing her to the verge of illicit marriages that dim the futures of nearly half of girls in Malawi.
“The future looked bleak,” she says. “I decided to just get married after the first term.”
But her hope was restored when the headteacher informed Grace’s mother that First Lady Monica Chakwera’s Shaping Our Future Foundation (Soff) would finance the needy girl’s education.
Last Monday, Grace Munthali narrated her emotional turnaround at Kamuzu Palace when Plan International Foundation paid a courtesy call to the First Lady.
The delegation included senior envoys of the German Foundation, Trust Foundation and Austria Foundation, who fund the four-year Girls Education for Empowerment (GEE) initiative being implemented by Plan Malawi in partnership with Soff.
The first lady is Plan International’s Global Ambassador for Girls’ Education under the Global Girls’ Foundation (GGF), which champions girls’ right to quality, inclusive and empowering education.
The donors were awestruck by the testimonies of the girl, now in Form Four at the prestigious public secondary school in the capital city.
She said: “Madam First Lady, this programme has not just provided us with the financial and material support, but also hope, dignity and chance to achieve our goals without fear of dropping out of school.
“I promise you, Your Excellency, that I will score not more than 12 points in this year’s Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations.”
Michael Mkandawire, the First Lady’s chief adviser and Soff executive director, described the GEE as a force for generational change.
The transformative partnership works under the strategic guidance of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.
Mkandawire said: “Thanks to this resolute partnership, Callista Banda is studying Physiotherapy at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and Sphiwe Ngalande is pursuing her dream of becoming a surgeon.
“Among those who are in this room, Tadala Ganamba is studying for a bachelor of science in nutrition and food science at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Grace is preparing to go to university after sitting for MSCE exams. These are not statistics, but lives lifted. They are your impact made visible.”
Plan Malawi director of programmes Janet Chidothi said the First Lady’s GGF ambassadorial role came in recognition of her unwavering commitment to advancing gender equality, empowering girls and advocating for their rights without borders.
Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima said the main barriers to girls’ education in the country, include widespread poverty, long walks to rural schools, harmful cultural practices that fuel teen pregnancies and child marriages, child labour and sexual abuse.
She said the ministry and its partners were working tirelessly to improve girls’ education nationwide.
“My ministry in conjunction with its partners will continue to develop or review policies, strategies and guidelines that improve service delivery in the promotion of girls education,” she said.
The blueprints include the Readmission Policy, National Girls Education Strategy, Adolescent Girls and Young Women Strategy, School Related Gender Based Violence guidelines and Mother Group Training Manuals.
“I’m optimistic that during the visit, the donors will appreciate what the country is doing in promoting girls’ education and support the country even more,” said Wirima.
the First Lady said long distances remain a stumbling block for girls’ education, especially in rural, marginalised and impoverished populations.
She said it is unacceptable that some girls walk 10 to 15 kilometres across tricky rivers, forests and hills just to learn.
This exposes them to sexual harassment, exploitation, and violence, she said.
“As of 2019, only 15 percent of eligible learners were enrolled in secondary school, and of these, girls accounted for just 34 percent. The challenge is even more pronounced in rural areas where 13.4 percent of girls drop out, compared to 8.5 percent for boys. The primary culprits remain unchanged—poverty and the cost of education are the two biggest walls between a girl and her classroom,” stated the first lady.
The bursaries from the First Lady’s foundation and its partners provide a lifeline for girls at risk of dropping out due to poverty.
“No child supported by the project was ever sent home for non-payment of school fees. They have saved their futures and replaced despair with dignity,” she said.
