| Betty Katsonga Liwimbi is the Research and Training Coordinator for the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, based in Lilongwe. She holds a Bachelor in Education and Humanities degree from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. Her work as a research and training coordinator involves doing research, capacity building trainings, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and implementation of project activities. |
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| Charles Banda is Assistant to the Executive Director at Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO), based in Zomba, Malawi. He is responsible for advocacy on issues that affect women and children. He provides legal advice to clients with complex care, coordinates networking with both local and international networks and documentation of the organizational activities and programs. Charles has a diploma in community development and he is currently studying law at Chancellor College. |
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| Chipiliro Phiri is the Executive Director of Youth Impact – Malawi, a youth-focused NGO that implements HIV prevention and promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights programs, targeting youth with a focus on adolescent girls. Chipiliro also works on child protection and girl child education through the Machinga District Education Network. Chipiliro holds an advance diploma in community development and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Community Sociology with Southern New Hampshire University. |
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| Christopher L.K. Mtima works at Chilimba Women and Children Support Organization, a local NGO working for the social welfare of women and children living in the rural communities in the Zomba district. He is also a village headman who works on behalf of his local community members in the areas of community development, human rights, adolescent girls’ issues, early pregnancy and child welfare. He is has a certificate of education from Malawi school system and has traveled to several African countries for professional trainings. |
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| Emmanuel Thuwala is a Project Manager for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). He heads the Development Broadcasting Unit (DBU) of MBC. Emmanuel is passionate about bringing the voices of ordinary people to television and radio in order to bring their concerns about development issues to the attention of decision-makers. Emmanuel holds a post graduate diploma in Management Studies from the Polytechnic University of Malawi and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from African Bible College in Lilongwe, Malawi. |
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| Eness Phiri is a Deputy Hospital Matron of Mponela Rural Hospital. Mponela Rural Hospital is a government healthcare unit in Dowa. She is involved in youth friendly services which include counseling adolescent girls on issues of sex and sexuality and reproductive health, as well as training adolescent girls in life skills and providing them with reproductive health and family planning services. Eness has a diploma in nursing and a certificate in midwifery from Malawi College of Health Sciences in conjunction with the University of Malawi. |
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| Esther Kamanga is a Program Manager for Nkhotakota AIDS Support Organization (NASO) in Malawi. Esther has worked with the organization for over 5 years. She is a certified nurse and midwife technician and has a degree from St. Johns College of Nursing. She also holds a community health nursing technician degree from the Malawi College of Heath Sciences. She has worked with different government organizations as well as in rural hospital and health centers. Esther also holds a diploma in early child care and education from Chancellor College of Malawi. |
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| Esther Munthali is a Program Officer for Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS) based in northern Malawi. Esther manages the following programs: Using an Integrated Cultural Approach in Addressing Gender Inequalities and HIV/AIDS (USICA), Community-based Monitoring Project (CBM) and Restored Hope for Vulnerable Children (OVC). Esther works to strengthen the capacity of young women, girls and orphans to protect their human rights. Esther holds a diploma in leadership development from the COADY International Institute within the St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. She also has a certificate in advocacy from the same university. Esther is a board member of Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organizations (MANASO). |
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| Faith Phiri is the Executive Director of Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), a grassroots network of young women advocates that aim to improve girls and young women’s health, education, and livelihoods through empowerment and advocacy initiatives. Faith holds a Bachelor in Public Health degree and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health degree at the College of Medicine in Malawi specializing in gender and maternal health, and expects to graduate in June 2012. |
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| Faith Aisha Adams joined YouthNet and Counseling (YONECO) in 2008 as a Field Officer working on the National Child Helpline where she was trained as an Child Protection Officer. She was later promoted to Project Officer for the UN joint project on adolescent girls. Faith is a youth representative for her country representing her organization in the Tackling Poverty Together Regional Network, a network that promotes youth involvement in poverty reduction in nine countries. She studied Business Administration at the University of Malawi Management Development Center. |
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| Grace Nyasha Ngwira is a Project Officer for Society for Women and AIDS in Malawi (SWAM). She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Education at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi. She works with commercial sex workers and vendors in order to reduce the incidence of HIV in Malawi through a set of comprehensive prevention activities designed to increase the adoption of safer sexual behaviors among high risk populations. |
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| Jones Mwalwanda is the Executive Director and one of the founders of Matindi Youth Organization (MATYO) which works to improve the livelihoods of adolescent girls by promoting health and education through advocacy and capacity building. Jones has worked with MATYO for 13 years, first as a Program Manager and then Deputy Director before being appointed Executive Director in 2008. Jones holds an advance diploma in social work from the Association of Business Management through Malawi University of Polytechnic. He also has a certificate in project management and a certificate in behavioral change. |
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| Joyce Phekani is the Executive Director for the Center for Alternatives for Victimized Women and Children (CAVWOC), an NGO that promotes the rights of women, men, girls and boys. CAVWOC’s programs on sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS are aimed at empowering adolescent girls to promote a violence-free society and claim their rights to services. She holds a diploma in education from the University of Malawi and is currently pursing a Master of Public Administration and Development degree with the University of Birmingham in the UK. |
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| Kenneth Sakala is a social development specialist with over ten years of experience in public and civil society organizations. Kenneth is currently working as Director of SOS Children’s Villages of Malawi Trust in Blantyre. He oversees the development and implementation of family based care and family strengthening programs for children and youth who have lost family care or are at risk of losing their families. Before joining SOS Children’s Villages of Malawi, Kenneth worked in the public sector as a teacher and also headed different secondary schools in Malawi. Kenneth holds a Master’s of Education degree in Policy, Planning and Leadership and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Malawi. |
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| Khumbo Chinemba works with Nkhotakota AIDS Support Organization (NASO) as a Project Officer. She manages a gender transformation project for the organization. The project is promoting partnerships centered on adolescent girls and young women with the fishing communities along Lake Malawi. The project covers social, cultural and economic aspects of problems facing women in fishing villages. Khumbo is a teacher by profession and holds a T2 teaching certificate from Kasonga Teachers Training College. Khumbo also has several certificates in HIV testing and counseling, management and leadership training from the Malawi Institute of Management. |
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| Martin Nkuna is a Child Protection Officer for UNICEF Malawi. Martin works to support national efforts to reduce violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect of children with a primary focus on justice for women and children. Martin holds a Master of Arts Degree in Human Rights Studies from the University of Peace in Costa Rica and a Master of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Malawi. |
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| Pacharo Munthali is a Projects Officer working in the Development Broadcasting Unit (DBU) of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). He manages various projects, including the AGALI-funded Mwana wa Mzako (Another person’s child is also yours) and programs focusing on promotion of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, child labor and trafficking, and child prostitution. Having obtained a Bachelors Degree in Media for Development from the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, Pacharo is planning to enroll in a Masters Degree program in 2012. |
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| Tawina Kopa-Kamanga works as Chief Irrigation Officer in the Malawi Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development. She heads the Kasungu Irrigation Services Division. Her vision is to see women attain and exercise their full potential and rights in irrigation and water related resources in particular and development in general. She pays special attention to specific needs of rural young women and girls. Her areas of interest and focus include girls’ advocacy and research from a gender and rights perspective. She has a multidisciplinary background with her first degree in agriculture (crop science) obtained from University of Malawi – Bunda College of Agriculture. She holds a Master of Science degree in Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Life Sciences in Norway. She confronts developmental challenges rural women and girls face on a daily basis in course of her paid work and also volunteers her services to Sub-Saharan Child and Community Development (SACCODE-Trust) as Programs Officer, Child Development Support Organization (CHIDESO) as Board Chairperson and YES Malawi as Country Leader. |
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| Yasinta Namacha is Assistant District Project Officer for Malawi Red Cross Society, on the Mwanza integrated HIV/AIDS project. She coordinates project activities with girls’ groups that aim to empower secondary school girls by addressing issues of gender discrimination. Before joining the Red Cross in 2010, Yasinta taught science at Mwanza and Malosa secondary schools. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Malawi and a diploma in information technology from Polytechnic Continuing Education Centre of Malawi. She is also a trainer of trainers in peer education and gender and sexuality. |
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