By Emmanuel Simpokolwe
Former president Joyce Banda has disclosed that she secured a three-year scholarship agreement for secondary school girls and another agreement to support women in agriculture at grass roots during her recent trip to China.
Banda arrived on Friday from the Asian country where she attended the third Asian-African Women’s Development and Cooperation Forum.
She left the country on October 25 in her capacity as chairperson for the Women Empowerment and Development Society for Asia–Africa.
Speaking on arrival, the former president said she took advantage of the trip to sign agreements with the Beijing Yaoyang Foundation and Foundation for Peace and Development, on behalf of her Joyce Banda Foundation.
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Banda said the Foundation for Peace and Development will provide scholarships for needy girls and boys in secondary schools while Yaoyang Foundation will assist rural women in agriculture at grassroots.
She said the trip is beneficial to Malawi when it comes to girls and women empowerment.
“In a country like ours, where there are so many calamities, my concern is that when too much rains come and everything is swept away, that is the period we must support women to grow crops that will sustain their families,” Banda said.
She added that much as the government is trying to ease the burden of school fees for girls, she has noted that most of the girls that are dropping out are those between the ages of 13 and 19, who are supposed to be in secondary school.
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The former president also mentioned that beneficiaries of the aid are not going to be identified by her Joyce Banda Foundation but through stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations, members of Parliament and traditional leaders.
Banda was appointed honorary chairperson for the Women Empowerment and Development Society in Asia-Africa in February last year.
The Council and Diplomats Committee of the association stated that they had settled for the Malawian due to her “outstanding achievement in the field of women development, capacity building and corporation”.
It said the former president would, among other responsibilities, “lead discussions against, discrimination and limitations on women and girls; join forces with others against gender-based violence and abuse…”
The conference brought together delegates from political, diplomatic and business circles from Asia and Africa.
