Don’t give up! MUPACHO initiative established to inspire secondary school students

MUPACHO, a new initiative that has been launched in the country, has said Malawi can turn tables around if youths develop a strong mindset in facing various challenges as they pursue their studies so that they realize their fullest potentials.

The initiative, founded by Chris Lola, himself a testimony of what it means to ‘see hell’ in life, has since embarked on a series of various engagements with youths across the country aimed at providing inspiration and other support.

“I have successfully defied the odds, made stumbling blocks to become stepping stones for the future. I have defied the hurdles of poverty and jumped the canyon of self-pity to become the man I am today.  It is this story that I would love to share with the youths in secondary schools; and, I am sure it will have an impact,” Loka said in an interview.

According to Loka, he has been led by principles based on deep convictions of what he truly wanted in his life.

“The results I got when I sat for MSCE for the second time at Chilaweni CDSS in Blantyre were frustrating and less promising, thereby suffocating all hopes of ever becoming a journalist. The incident, consequently, siphoned out my desire of pursuing success through the path of education and I ventured in other avenues like entrepreneurship where i was selling paraffin door to door, selling tomatoes and I later opened a barbershop where I was providing my services in Lilongwe around 2009 and 2010.

“In the course of being a barber in Lilongwe, I got to know many people who inspired me and I decided to go back to school because I still had a dream, until 2011 when I sat for MSCE exams for the fourth time and then I was selected to the Malawi Institute of Journalism in 2012, and now I have just graduated from the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Culture Studies,” explained Loka.

Loka’s vision is that the initiative should reach out to over 5000 students by August this year so that they should be able to face life challenges head-on saying the journey to achieving a dream is not smooth.

“A lot of youths in Malawi fail in their academic pursuits due to self-pity, because they mirror their lives in the lens of their family backgrounds. But through this initiative, we want them to interact with people who have faced similar challenges and even bigger challenges but still emerged victorious,” he said.

Being a non-profit making organization, the initiative is currently engaged in resource mobilization to allow it to operate.

But even at its infancy, the initiative has already started receiving massive support from various businesses and individuals who are interested with the idea.

Among them include Lilongwe-based printing company, Front View, hospitality service provider Crown Hotel, popular advertising company Skyline International and many other stakeholders.

“We are still appealing to all well-wishers and the general public to support the initiative in any way possible so that our young people achieve their goals,” said Loka.