As the saying goes, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Such is the story of Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda President of the republic of Malawi who with the help of God dismantled all stumbling blocks in her way that tried so hard to stop her from becoming the first female head of state in Malawi and the sub-Saharan region.

At 63, Dr. Banda has achieved what every successful human being would wish to achieve. Coming from a rather humble background, Dr. Banda’s agenda and commitment has been to fight poverty by socially, economically and politically empowering the youth and fellow women.

On youth empowerment, the President through her bursary fund which she established way back before she even became an active politician{UNDER THE JOYCE BANDA FOUNDATION}, has reached out to thousands upon thousands of both secondary and university students to date. The list of people who have benefited from the fund is enormous and could take ages trying to list down names.

On women empowerment, the President’s greatest achievement apart from directly assisting rural women to become economically empowered, she is also credited for contributing to the rise of former first lady Callista who was a nobody before but after meeting Joyce Banda her life changed for the better.

At first many Malawians were of the view that Dr. Banda’s passion for women and youth was aimed at scoring cheap political scores and that she could virtually abandon her activism once she secures political position. This has not been the case as evidenced by the fact that the past four years she has been in the Presidency as Vice and later President, Dr. Banda has put the plight of the poor and vulnerable at the centre of her thoughts and plans. This has resulted in among several other things championing the introduction of policies that are largely benefiting the poor people and not just selected few barons.

To date despite her busy schedule, the President continues to spare time to think about how she is going to contribute to the empowerment of more women and youth in a country where majority of these groups swim in abject poverty.
Be that as it may, I for one, was not surprised at all when I heard that she had announced a 30% cut to her monthly salary in order to alleviate the welfare of disabled people Malawi.

Indeed President Dr. Banda was born great, has achieved greatness, and she has greatness thrust upon her.

Madam President you are indeed the chosen one Malawians have been waiting for since independence.

#JB MOMENT. ONE PRESIDENT AT A TIME!!!!!!!!