Grace Sichinga: Economist and community development facilitator

When asked what she is proud of, Grace Sichinga expresses that she is proud of all the development and community work that she has done so far, especially the work that has reached those who are usually left behind in most development programmes.

“I am proud to be working in a field that gives a voice to people, and makes sure that they are empowered and take responsibility for their own development and livelihood,” said Grace.

Grace Sichinga is 25 years old, and a younger sister to Marumbo, a computer engineer. Her father is a civil engineer and her mother is a chartered accountant.

“I was blessed enough to be raised in a loving family. My parents have always encouraged us to do our best in everything we tried. They also gave us the opportunity to choose our own interests and supported us,” said Grace.

She did her O-levels at Kamuzu Academy, where her interest for economics started. In 2014, Grace started studying Social Science at Chancellor College, University of Malawi, where she majored in economics and minored in psychology and demography. She is now an economist by profession, with a focus on development, and currently volunteering at CorpsAfrica as a community development facilitator.

“Social Science gave me a platform to learn how people behave in the economy. Amongst the social sciences, I found economics to be the most interesting and best way to learn about development,” expressed Grace.

Her first developmental initiative she took part in was a project called Pamthuzi, a project which she co-led while she was still in university, together with Tamandani Giva and Tawonga Msowoya. The project’s goal was to foster awareness, insight, critical thought and creative solutions of social issues among the youth whilst improving their literacy rates.

We applied for the Art Global Health Africa programme, called Students with Dreams (SWD). Under this, we implemented the Pamthuzi project. The project served young people by giving them a platform to express themselves and find creative solutions for social issues they recognise around them,” said Grace.

After co-developing and leading the Pamthuzi project under the ArtGlo SWD’s Programme, Grace was later selected to mentor upcoming student-led community project leaders as part of ArtGlo’s Student with Dreams programme. This involved supervising nine community project leaders.

After graduating in 2019, Grace joined Forum for Aids Counselling and Training (Fact) as a project officer. She was a project officer under a project called Let Girls Shine. The goal of the project was to end period poverty, and to educate girls on menstrual hygiene management.

“I was responsible for supervising and training two interns and 10 volunteers. I also led 24 workshops on menstrual health management in rural primary schools,” said Grace.

This role allowed me to give back to my community, by empowering young girls to be able to not miss school days due to period poverty.

At the peak of Covid-19 in 2020, Grace became part of an incubation programme certified by Unicef/Cartedo, which trained youth in design thinking to develop products, services and solutions to Covid-19 challenges. Through this, she designed a mask from a cotton T-shirt that did not need any sewing equipment, just a pair of scissors. She also designed a three layered reusable mask. All these were designed with the aim of making them affordable and accessible for people who could not afford expensive masks.

While still at Fact, under the Women Network branch called Fact Women Empowerment Network (Fwen), Grace also managed a project called, Tiunikileni. The project was aimed at sensitising adolescent girls and young women on gender-based violence (GBV) that was on the rise during the Covid-19 Pandemic peak in 2020.

The project aimed at equipping girls and women with the right information on how to identify GBV, how to report it, and where to report. It also aimed to empower them with information on how to access psychosocial support and medical care especially amidst Covid-19. The project reached over 200 women in semi-urban areas of Blantyre.

“While at Fact I was able to successfully secure a grant worth $2 000 for the Tiunikileni project. I also successfully co-developed a winning proposal worth $25 000 for another project titled “Kodi Bae Anayezetta?” an HIV-testing programme targeting young people” said Grace.

Currently, Grace has taken up the role as community development facilitator under CorpsAfrica. Her role is to identify community needs, assets, and solutions through community involvement, human-centered design, and asset-based community development methods.

“This role has allowed me to engage and build relationships with local leaders, and other organisations. Through this I have learnt the importance of collaboration in having successful projects,” said Grace.

“I have been able to carry out a CorpsAfrica Green Project through this position, which was centred on educating the community about the value of planting trees and planting over 100 trees in the community to help reduce the effects of global warming” added Grace.

Grace was also able to run a book drive for two primary schools, and managed to donate over 85 old books and 60 new books. With funding from CorspsAfrica, she was able to start three kitchen gardens. The community noted that their young children who attended Kalambo Junior Primary School, Banana CBCC, and Matiti CBCC, did not have access to enough nutritious food. Through her community engagement meetings, she got an idea to start kitchen gardens at the CBCC’s which would support them with nutritious vegetables and fruits. The gardens are managed by community members themselves, and any produce they do not eat is sold for profit to help around the schools and centers. The garden at the junior primary school also gives the opportunity for students to have practicals that supplement their learning.

“Community led development has empowered these particular communities and given the responsibility to make sure the projects are sustained, even without my presence. Through these projects, it was very notable that communities took ownership of the successful implementation of the projects as they targeted the issues that they stated,” said Grace.

Grace admits to have faced several challenges along the way, especially as a young woman in her field.

“Being overlooked a lot as a young woman has been one of my challenges. My skills and knowledge tend to be underestimated. I often have to prove myself, which sometimes can be fun, because when people already think lowly of you, the only way is up,” said Grace.

However, despite this, Grace kept on pushing and focused facilitating change through community led development.

“Community-led development focuses on having the people you want to help at the center of everything, from project identification, design, implementation and sustainability. This empowers communities to take charge of their own development. I believe this type of development work has the best impact and ensures that communities are self-reliant.

“I am passionate about this type of development, as it empowers people and addresses issues that are actually brought up by those most affected. It also ensures that those vulnerable and usually not heard are represented in development efforts,” she added.

She advises young girls to not underestimate themselves, as everyone has their own strengths.

“The goal is to find the balance between what you are passionate about and where your strengths lie, and harness that to reach your goals. Also, take responsibility for the world you have access to in order to make it a better place,” said Grace.

In her free time, Grace enjoys experiencing nature, especially with family and friends. She also enjoy reading.