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...AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE

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  In 2024, I met a girl who at a single glance, captured my attention. There was something about her; an unspoken radiance, a silent strength. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I knew she was special. Now, if you know me, meeting and connecting with young girls or young women is nothing new. But this girl, who for the sake of this piece I will call Nia, was different. From our first encounter, she struck me as joyful, bubbly and remarkably intelligent. She had an energy that was both refreshing and contagious. Above all, she was beautiful not just in appearance but in the way she carried herself, in the spark of life that danced in her eyes. We exchanged a few words that day, a brief conversation that left an impression. As time passed, our interactions became a little more friendly; just a few polite greetings here and there over WhatsApp. At that point, she was just an acquaintance, nothing more. Then one night, around 11 PM, my phone rang. I sleepily reached for it, barel...
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MEET THE FOUNDER

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THE MOTHER AT GIRLFRIENDS IN FAITH Many have  failed to figure out who I am. Now Let's talk about me, shall we? 😆 To many, I am a mystery; unpredictable, as they like to say. To those who know me well, I am fun to be around, even talkative. But truth be told, I don’t entirely see myself through their eyes. I have always thought of myself as calm, composed, and maybe even a little shy. Introverted, if you will. One thing has always been clear, though: I know my creative power. I’ve always been the one to dream up ideas effortlessly. Ideas of change, growth, and transformation. Stagnation? I can’t stand it. Failure? I refuse to befriend it. I thrive on building something out of nothing, on shaping what seems out of place into something extraordinary. Those who know me best will tell you this: I am an advisor of transformation. And that’s where Girlfriends in Faith comes in. This is more than just my brainchild; it’s my dream turned reality. Once, someone asked me about my calling. M...
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Reflections on My Mentorship Journey:

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  Shaping Lives, One Lemonade at a Time I can’t quite remember the moment I consciously decided to become a mentor. It wasn’t a sudden epiphany or a loud declaration. Instead, it feels as though I woke up one day and realized I had been shaped, molded, perhaps even born, for this role. Somewhere along the way, I embraced the saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade . Life, in its unpredictable generosity, has handed me enough lemons to make lemonade for generations. Looking back, I see that those toughest times were not just trials but lessons. Without them, what tangible wisdom could I offer to others navigating their challenges? I’ve found my calling in guiding young people; a fragile yet resilient people. For me, working with them goes beyond mere profession. It’s a purpose; a mission! Beginning the Journey with Girls My mentorship journey began with girls. Their stories found their way to my heart and my desk, demanding solutions to challenges that seemed overwhelming....
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Land of a Thousand Hills: Easy on the Eye

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In 2023 I connected with Rwanda’s capital city. One that sprawls across numerous hills, ridges and valleys.   Before I travelled to Kigali, I learnt that Rwanda was a land blessed with creativity in Arts and one rich in culture. Walking in the streets of Kigali, I saw that the city has clearly expressed an effort to connect people through Arts and Culture. After learning that Kigali was a hub of creativity, I promised myself I was not flying back to Malawi without a visit to one of the Arts Centers in the city. Since establishing an Arts Center is one of my dreams, I made it a point to visit one center even amidst my busy schedule. Inema Arts Center is a small but an amazing creative hub that spurs creativity for personal, social and economic growth. The center is simply pretty as a picture! It was amazing to learn that the center works with orphans offering them an opportunity to discover and use their artistic talent and mentors in art as a skill, a talent, an occupation ...
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Arts For Social and Economic Impact

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  THE CREATIVITY THAT IS ARTS While the Arts have and continue to play an import ant role globally, in curriculums of most Developing Countries in Africa, Arts is undermined. In Malawi, for instance the success of students has mostly been measured by classroom credit hours in other subjects but Arts. My passion for Arts began 20 years ago when I was in primary school. I remember loving music and dance. Among all my friends, I was well known as the dancer.   When I was 10 years old, I loved the Congolese genre of music called Rhumba. Rhumba was the music. The beat in rhumba felt like nothing else. I grew up in church. When I was in secondary school, I envied the choir members at our local church. I was curious to know what made the jazzmen and vocalists unique. Why were they able to make music while the rest of us couldn’t?   The piano players were always my favorite.   Somehow, at the age 15 my ears had already learnt to distinguish a good pianist from a not so g...
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Arts Education and Creativity in the Malawian Arts Industry

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Creativity in the Malawian Arts Industry   I recently wrote a piece about Arts Education and how we can advance Creativity in the Malawian Arts Industry. Arts is one of my passions and I believe that the establishment of arts  centres will contribute alot in the Arts industry and Arts Education in Malawi. I partnered with the Arts Education Partnership in Denver to publish this blogpost and it has been published on their website. Please read my blogpost on: https://www.aep-arts.org/arts-education-and-creativity-in-the-malawian-arts-industry Enjoy!
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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

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                 In most of the communities where I have worked, the importance of educating a girl child  is undermined.    I remember visiting one school in one of the rural communities in Neno district where standard 8 class had 1 girl against 30 boys in the same class. Records showed that the number of girls was high from junior primary and it kept on dropping as the classes went up.   In such communities, it is a huge challenge to help girls to stay in school because the norm is when the girls reach puberty, the goal is to get married. For this one girl, it was only a matter of time before she dropped out as well, because being the only girl in class for her has to take a whole lot of courage. We had checked with the headmaster of the school to tell us the major causes of the dropouts. He confirmed that the girls end up getting married. He further said most of them look at their married friends and believe that they...
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Dealing with Intergenerational Poverty in Malawi

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  Intergenerational Poverty in Malawi We can argue that, quite a number of today’s poor children will become tomorrow’s poor adults. Why? Inheritance is of the most common means by which physical property is transferred from one generation to another in Malawi. However, the design of living for poor Malawians is not necessarily passed on from one generation to the next. Poverty is often associated in people’s minds with misery, but for us who are familiar with rural Malawi will understand that poor families accept their slice of poverty with courage and cheer just like in most developing countries.  In Malawi, there are families, who are rich today, and yet they come from poor backgrounds. This upward movement, therefore, indicates that the poor in Malawi are capable of taking full advantage of changing circumstances and greater opportunity. It is important for us to understand that poverty hits children the hardest and threatens their most basic rights to survival, health...
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WHISPERS OF HOPE

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  UNDER THE MANGO TREE THE RETURN E ven though I left Kasungu some time ago, my heart remains tethered to it. The experiences and lessons I gained there continue to guide me in every aspect of my work. Kasungu shaped my career, and every time I return, it feels like reconnecting with an old friend. , I had the opportunity to work in Kasungu again for a few days. The organization I now work with focuses on menstrual hygiene interventions to reduce school absenteeism among girls. By distributing menstrual health kits and providing education on menstrual health, we aim to tackle one of the key barriers to girls’ school attendance—poverty and menstruation.  As I stepped into rural schools once again, memories of my early days in Kasungu came flooding back. The warmth of the communities, the vibrant traditional dances, the comforting Nsima and local chicken, and, most poignantly, the infectious smiles of the children. The Girls Under the Mango Tree On one of our project days, a gro...
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Le Voyage: Kasungu!

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  Le Voyage: Kasungu!                              How Can I Ever Forget Kasungu? Kasungu, a humble district in Malawi, will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was there that I discovered my true calling. My first significant job brought me to this small town, where I spent most of my days immersed in rural communities, connecting with locals, and working toward something deeply fulfilling. Kasungu introduced me to my passion, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. A Journey of Hope When I first learned I’d gotten the job in Kasungu, I was overjoyed. The position was everything I had dreamed of; helping bring school dropouts back to class. My title? Out-of-School Child Specialist. What could be more rewarding than changing lives through education? For me, this job was pure gold. Leaving Zomba, my serene home city in southern Malawi, felt like the children of Israel leaving Egypt for Canaan. I wa...
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