NEWS:

8 Feb, 2016


Rose Sakala: the Star Winner of FALA Awards
At only the age of 22, Rose Sakala has achieved a lot as compared to many of her equals. Coming from a disadvantaged background did not stop her to dream big. Rose had to chase her dream as Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Rose was born and raised in the remote area of Karonga district. Life was not easy for her as well as her siblings and the worst time was when she lost her mother, the breadwinner in her family, at the age of 16. The death of her mother brought in various challenges, she and her sibling found themselves homeless and food became a problem let alone finances.

The now Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness third year student at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), had to find piece works in order to feed her siblings who were very young at that time.

Despite all the adverse challenges that Rose faced she still had ambitions of living her dream someday. She was lucky to be adopted by the Mulunguti family who provided care to her. She then joined Natural Resources College in 2010 and later on joined LUANAR in 2014 as an Agribusiness Management student.

This is how the young motivated leader started her journey to success. Her passion to youth empowerment and girl child education has been witnessed in her initiatives to promote young people as well as the rights and education of the girl child.

In 2015 alone, Rose was given several platforms to advocate for the girl child and youth in the country as well as outside the country.

“In October last year (2015) I went to Italy for 2015 Expo Milano where I represented Malawian girls and advocate for a policy that was launched by Save the Children called “Starting from Girls, they are a Source of Trigger,” said Rose.

While in Italy for this universal expo under the theme Feeding Planet , Energy for Life , Rose was invited to speak on behalf of the UN organisations ; her speech inspired many and caused World Food Programme to pledge millions of metric tonnes of maize to Malawi.

Not only has Rose made a mark at international level, locally she has been entrusted by the government as well as various institutions to work with them.

For instance, in May last year, Rose was called to speak on the role of agribusiness in Malawi and the role of the youth at the country’s National Youth Agricultural conference.

“I was later, invited by the Minister of Sports and Culture to attend the launch of Action for Adolescents (A4A) where I addressed over 700 youths and seven dignitaries including the Minister of Sports and Culture and the Minister of Agriculture,” said Rose.

Despite all the adverse challenges this young innovative leader faced, she has always put the needs of others first than hers. She realised that the problem of unemployment has been rampant among the youth including young graduates and this prompted her to form a student entrepreneurship lead initiative that targets youth who have potentially viable business ideas but lack resources.

The initiative is now being implemented country wide with new partnership with commercial agriculture support services (CASS) which targets young commercial farmers and has impacted over 5000 individuals across the country. She was also specially asked by the government of Malawi to study the agro business model in Uganda and Kenya and adapt it for use in Malawi.

Apart from the on-campus initiatives, she is involved in economic empowerment for women and youth, and has taught several people on managing sustainable business models and entrepreneurship skills.

Her passion for advocating for the girl child has seen her being recognised by the international organisations. The 22 year old was chosen as a Chairperson by the Common Wealth Secretariat in Malawi which is working in reducing forced and early child marriages.

“During holidays I also work with Save the Children under Improving nutrition and Economic Opportunities for Women and Children (INEW) project as an Economic Development Facilitator ,” said Rose.

As the common saying “work hard in silence and your success make noise”, Rose hardworking spirit has been a testimony to her life.

She recently won 2015 Future African Leaders Awards (FALA), an initiative aimed at exploring and expanding the leadership potential in Africa and for Africa, by identifying and supporting young Africans who have demonstrated exemplary leadership by impacting their generation positively through education, youth empowerment and through other projects aimed at building young people and preparing them for a positive future. As the 2015 FALA Winner she got away with 25,000 USD (about MK 17,024,700). FALA was established to encourage, motivate, support and recognize young Africans who are doing marvellous work for the continent and last year 16 young people were awarded from 28 nominees from different countries.

Rose thanked the FALA founder Rev Dr Chris Oyakhilome of Loveworld Nation (also known as Christ Embassy Church) for the grant saying it will help her initiatives in empowering young people as well as advocating for the rights and education of the girl child.

“FALA award is given to us as a grant and not personal money. Half of the amount needs to be used for making impact in our church such as spreading the gospel while the other half will be used for projects which we are implementing such as youth empowerment and advocating for the rights of a girl child,” said Rose.


Despite all this Rose did not let her education suffer, she makes sure that achieve her goal.
“My passion is the motivation. So where there is passion there is always a great zeal and desire to do things. My passion for the girls, for youth and agribusiness makes me to have a desire to learn and do more. So as I enter the class I am more than a student as I make sure I grasp all that is being lectured and execute immediately,” said Rose


Rose believes that if a girl has the chance of being educated she can have a respectable life. She can ensure that her family and her entire community lead a better life.

Written By: Patricia Nkhoma Ngwale