Crenodia Mloza-Banda establishes a mentoring program for Malawian girls
Crenodia received a Student Engagement Grant to establish a mentoring program for secondary school-aged girls in Malawi.
Crenodia Mioza-Banda’s thoughts are never far from her native Malawi as she studies at the University of Melbourne. The Australia Awards scholar, undertaking a Master of Agricultural Sciences, is establishing a mentoring program for girls in four secondary schools in Malawi.
Crenodia won a Student Engagement Grant from the University of Melbourne to help with her scheme, which will send role models into schools to speak on the importance of schooling, available support, and opportunities beyond secondary school.
‘I was born and raised in Malawi, where I noticed that not all girls have access to education for various reasons – financial, being too far away from local schools, or cultural, where educating girls is just not a priority,' Crenodia said.
'From my experience, I’ve learnt that education gives people freedom, a purpose and access into a wide range of income-generating possibilities, which is vital in a country which high poverty rates. My project is about mentoring girls in high school and showing the endless possibilities that exist for educated women in the workplace, business and wherever they go.'
Crenodia said that following her studies in Melbourne, she hoped to return to her former job as a grants program officer in Malawi and source more funding for development.
'I love designing development projects in agriculture and nutrition for farming families in rural areas,' she said.