Tiwale

Tiwale began as a summer project in 2012 when Chmba became concerned that women in Malawi were not receiving the opportunities they deserve. Social pressure and government fees mean that very few women in the country attend secondary education, with only 13% of girls completing upper secondary school, a rate that falls to 2% amongst the most disadvantaged children. Chmba witnessed this reality in her own community and developed a strategy to keep girls in school by helping them learn how to supplement their income.
Chmba recalls being blown away by the 2017 One Young World Summit in Bogotá, seeing large-scale successful projects and initiatives led by young people, some of which had managed to partner with prestigious international organisations. This encouraged Chmba to continue working on Tiwale. She made close friendships and has used the One Young World Community as a resource to further her collaborations with other young people. Tiwale has become a safe space for vulnerable young women, girls, and non-binary people. It offers its members two routes, an education pathway and an entrepreneurial programme directed at older participants. Tiwale hosts educational workshops and has increasingly focused on digital literacy.
The organisation has 413 registered members, and a scholarship system to help high-achieving young women continue their studies. The vocational training offered has led to collaborations with the Swiss Embassy and the Ministry of Health, producing 33,000 masks at the height of the pandemic. Through workshops and seminars across the world, Chmba has reached over 26,000 young people while partnering with universities. On the ground in Malawi, Tiwale is active in assisting women affected by rural to urban migration while also operating sites within the city for young women and the LGBT community.
“One Young World has been a resource in terms of my access to fellow young people. It’s definitely on my resume, when people ask about my experience of being around young people from different spaces it is something I refer to”