Daniel Kamwagha is one of the beneficiaries of the Improving Education Qualities in Community Day Secondary School (IEQ-CDSS) project which is being funded by Mastercard Foundation and Echidna Giving. Growing up in a female-headed family and being the only male child, Daniel Kamwagha of Namwafi village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mwaulambia in Chitipa district had plans of migrating to the neighboring country, Tanzania, right from his young age. Daniel’s father divorced his mother and left the 4 toddlers (1 boy and 3 girls) under the care of the mother.
“I don’t know my father, he left while I was only 2 and never returned. Growing up in such a family and in a community where the only opportunities in life are the businesses that men do across the border, I desired to support my family, and business was the only way out,” narrated Daniel.
Currently, Daniel is a role model at his former school, Chinunkha CDSS where he is teaching Biology and Mathematics in form 3.
Daniel said that he is enjoying the experience of teaching the two subjects at his former school in Chitipa following the skills he learned with CRECCOM on leadership.
“Through the skills on leadership that I learned when I was a youth forum leader established by CRECCOM, I can apply the skills to lead the students so that they can understand what is being taught,” said Daniel.
While in Form 3, CRECCOM through the IEQ-CDSS project arrived at the school with youth forum interventions. Daniel as a youth leader was trained by CRECCOM. According to Daniel, the training was a turning point in his life as he was exposed to another life that he had never imagined.
“Firstly, the trainers inspired me so much as they said that they had come from Thyolo, a district far south, I wished I could visit Thyolo one day. Secondly, the curriculum under the youth forum was amazing and made me replan my life forever. After training, I wrote down my vision and dream and pasted them on the wall in my room. Every time I looked at the vision, I was inspired to work extra hard. I worked so hard that I lost weight but in the end, it paid off.” shared Daniel.
According to Daniel, what he learned from the training inspired and motivated him to change his mind from doing business along the border to studying medicine. In 2019, Daniel passed MSCE with a distinction -the best at his school. Now studying Immunology at a high merit Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Thyolo district. “When I got the news that I have been offered a space and government scholarship, I was so excited. Above all, I was excited that my life and that of my family will change forever.”
In February 2021, Daniel traveled out of the Chitipa district for the first time. “I will forever be grateful to CRECCOM for the youth forum. MUST has diverse students from across Africa, the only mode of communication here is English. With the background of English speaking from youth forums, I found it easier to settle down at MUST.”
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