Malawi this week unveiled the Chief Kachindamoto Fund (CKF) at the Fourth Africa Girls Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of preserving the legacy of the late Theresa Kachindamoto who dissolved nearly 3 500 child marriages.
Feminist traditional leader Fumukazi Zilanie Kamgundanga, who addressed delegates on behalf of the Fumukazi Foundation, described the fund as both a national plan and a personal promise to the late chief.
the event. | Courtesy of Fumukazi Kamgundanga
“The silence after a leader like our queen falls can be dangerous,” she said. “This fund is our answer. Her life’s work is now our nation’s plan.”
The CKF, launched in Lilongwe on November 25 at the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, aims to support 5 000 Malawian girls to remain in or return to school by covering fees, uniforms, books, transport and childcare for young mothers. It also provides psychosocial support, life skills and reproductive health knowledge.
A second arm of the fund invests in traditional leaders, incentivising them to lead cultural transformation in their communities.
Said Kamgundanga: “We are institutionalising the Kachindamoto approach.
“Tradition is not a cage—it is a tool meant to protect and uplift. Traditional leaders are not just part of the solution; they are the way forward.”
She urged the African Union (AU) to imagine a continental mechanism that supports chiefs to declare “zero child marriage zones” across Africa, stating: “We have the models. We have the courage. Now we need scale”.
Representing Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Mary Navicha, Principal Secretary Esmie Kainja reaffirmed the country’s commitment to ending child marriage, warning that despite progress, challenges remain severe.
She observed that currently, 38 percent of girls are married before the age of 18, and 9 percent before age 15.
“Teenage pregnancy is equally worrying. These trends are driven by harmful social norms, limited schooling and inadequate youth-friendly services,” said Kainja.
She noted that Malawi’s new National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage (2024–2030) builds on regional and global best practices and was crafted through a broad national task force.
Kainja praised the late Senior Chief Kachindamoto as a model of community-led change.
Both speakers urged African States to scale up cultural leadership models that anchor change within communities.
