Sarah khudze: it expert, entrepreneur, advocate, award winner 

Sarah Khudze is an embodiment of determination.

As a young entrepreneur, she was among the 21 awardees of the 2022 Presidential Zikomo Awards, for her social enterprise initiative that promotes girls.

“Seeing someone flourish in life because of the contribution you made in their life is the highest prize I can think of. I have witnessed many students and young people I once taught or mentored making significant contributions to their communities,” she said.

Sarah founded the social enterprise—the Reach Out to Girls organisation in 2015—to improve the well-being of girls through education and women empowerment, health (sanitation and menstrual hygiene management) and leadership development.

The 28-year-old established the organisation after noticing that the majority of Malawian secondary school graduates have little or no computer literacy, with 75 percent of secondary schools in the country not offering computer classes.

“Through Reach Out to Girls, I mentor young women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [Stem] professions and provide them internship opportunities at both local and international companies.

“Sharing my expertise with others and seeing them apply it effectively fills my spirit with joy. This is one of the reasons I enjoy working as an Information Technology [IT] lecturer or trainer,” she explained.

Her efforts come at the back of the American Association of University Women studies which indicate that boys and men are more likely than girls and women to be equipped with digital skills; and that women make 28 percent of the Stem workforce.

Born and raised in a middle-class family that struggled financially during her secondary education and surviving the deadly tuberculosis, motivated Sarah to work hard in school and become one of the influential women in society so that she could help others.

 “I remember praying to God for healing and asking Him that if He did, I would give back to society in whatever way He led me. While learning at Kafulu Local Education Authority School in Lilongwe, I was involved in various activities organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund Forum for African Women Educationalists in Malawi and other stakeholders that promoted girls’ education. They exposed me to challenges girls face in realising their dreams,” she said.

When Sarah went to college, she visited female students at Community Day Secondary Schools around Blantyre with fellow female students, donating school materials to less privileged girls and giving career talks to help them set clear career goals.

“We contributed from our pocket money, just for the sake of keeping the girls in school,” said Sarah.

Currently, the young woman is an associate lecturer at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences in the computing and IT department.

There, she also uses her career to encourage and train girls in science.

“I equip students with computer skills and help them apply those abilities effectively in their particular fields of study. In addition, I supervise final-year students working on software development projects. This entails providing advice on system proposal development and implementing it to produce a final software product for presentation,” she said.

Sarah is also active in research activities and collaborates with other stakeholders to implement IT-related projects for the benefit of the country.

Apart from that, she conducts career talks for students that visit the campus to learn about programmes offered by the university.

As such, the IT associate lecturer has successfully equipped over 1 000 students with digital skills since becoming a lecturer in 2018.

“I launched an ICT-skills for girls’ programme in 2019 to help secondary school female graduates obtain digital skills to be more productive in this digital age. More than 50 females are trained in these skills each year,” she said.

Sarah, however, plans to reach more than 5 000 girls and 10 000 young people through raising awareness on menstrual hygiene management and online talks on digital skills development.

She intends to achieve this by training 100 youths every quarter and will sponsor 500 girls with school fees through the Beautiful Minds Scholarship programme.

“We will target those with the Malawi School Certificate Education who were unable to gain admission to institutions for further education.

“We hope this will be achieved and we are asking those who would like to partner with us to contact us so we can work together and bring the change we desire to see in our communities,” she said.

Aside from being a lecturer and an IT trainer, Sarah enjoys writing and travelling in her free time.

Born on January 5 1994, she has so far authored two books titled, Make Your Dream a Reality and Getting Smart with University Life.

The last born of eight children in her family also enjoys adventures.

“I enjoy travelling and appreciating the beautiful nature that God has bestowed upon us,” she said.

Sarah advises the youths to be innovative and provide a positive impact to their society.

“To have an impact on your community, you do not need to be in a position of leadership. Even without that managerial role, you can make a difference in the communities that are struggling. Let us build a better Malawi, Africa and the world that we all want as long as the resources are there,” said the ICT expert. 

But despite all the achievements, Sarah has also faced challenges throughout her career and she explained: “Teaching students that are older than you can sometimes be challenging. But I suppose it boils down to appreciating one another so that we can all prosper.”

Apart from that, she she is able to pull it all off by ensuring time management and making priorities a priority.

This includes motivation speaking, authoring as well as managing her organisation which requires her time.

“I ensure that I do not waste my time on things that are unimportant. With such discipline measures in place, I am able to deliver in all roles,” she said.

The determined young woman with experience in software development, web design, non-profit organisation management, girls and women in Stem advocacy, as well as leadership development holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems obtained with credit from the Polytechnic currently Mubas.

The Stem enthusiast was the runner-up in 2016’s Girls Who Code, Stella and Chris competition.

And in 2018, she was recognised by Ghana’s Nsesa Foundation as a young woman in Stem.

As an advocate for women in Stem, she has conducted a number of projects that have impacted thousands of girls in Malawi and beyond.