By Trinity Kaphamtengo
Elijah Chikumba stands confidently before his class at Beautiful Gate Academy in Salima, something that once felt like a distant dream.
Growing up in the Traditional Authority Maganga area of the district, he faced financial hardship that put his education in jeopardy. Despite the odds, he managed to complete his secondary education at Chipoka Secondary School before advancing to the tertiary level.
Now a graduate of the Malawi University of Science and Technology, Chikumba credits his success not only to determination, but to timely support from the Youth Empowerment and Support Initiative (YESI).
“They didn’t just support me financially,” he recalls. “They guided me and helped me change the direction of my life”
In Malawi, access to education remains a challenge for many vulnerable learners, particularly in rural areas where poverty continues to force students out of school despite strong academic performance. Chikumba is among more than 100 learners whose lives have been transformed by YESI, a youth-led organisation working to expand access to education for vulnerable students in Salima.
For Shamira Wakati, the intervention came at a critical moment. After scoring 19 points at Msalura Community Day Secondary School, her academic success was overshadowed by financial struggles that nearly forced her to abandon her ambitions.
Kevious Stonard shares a similar story. Raised by a single mother in Malenga Village under Traditional Authority Kalonga, his chances of advancing in school were zero to none
“My mother could not afford my education,” he explains. “But YESI stepped in and I am glad I am one of the students the initiative is supporting.”
Kevious is now pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, a journey that once seemed impossible.
For his mother, Meleniya Stonard, the support is personal as she struggled to pay school fees for her children.
“I had lost hope,” she says. “Out of the 5 children that I have, I believe Kevious is the one who will support our family in the near future because of his education”.
For Sam Malasa Banda, the founder and now team leader for the initiative, his dream is to help students ‘ education like other well-wishers did for when he couldn’t afford to pay for his school fees.
I saw myself in many of these students, talented but lacking resources,” Banda says. “Starting YESI was about making sure others don’t give up on their dreams and education because of money.”
Despite limited resources and increasing demand, Banda and his team says they remain unwavering in their mission, as their vision goes beyond financial support but also aiming to nurture responsible citizens who will, in turn, give back to their communities.
Education expert Limbani Nsapato describes such youth-led, community-driven efforts as essential to Malawi’s broader quality education agenda.
“Initiatives like YESI are filling critical gaps,” he notes. “They complement government programmes and bring solutions closer to the people who need them most.”
He has also appealed to the government to provide clear policy direction and strategic frameworks that ensure long-term sustainability of such initiatives.
For Chikumba, the journey does not end here. He aspires to achieve even greater dreams in the future.
“Now that I am a mentor myself, I hope to change someone’s life just as someone else changed mine,” he says.
