GRAÇA MACHEL TRUST Scholarship Programme
Launched in 2008, the mandate of the Scholarship Programme is to increase the visibility and influence of a new generation of highly qualified women. The programme is a joint initiative between the Canon Collins Trust and the Graça Machel Trust and provides an opportunity for women from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds to access postgraduate studies. To date, 100 women have completed post-graduate degrees under the programme, in a variety of areas ranging from science and technology, business and commerce to the humanities.
- To create a cadre of highly skilled and world-class African women leaders who will serve as role models for future generations.
- To equip Southern African women with Masters’ and Doctorate degrees that are relevant to the developmental needs of the region in areas such as health, education, science and technology, economics and finance
- To provide appropriate mentoring, internship and career guidance opportunities during and after their studies
Recognizing Our Scholars
The Trust has entered into a partnership with the African Leadership University to support business women from our networks towards a 20-months MBA programme at their Rwanda campus. This programme is tailored for the busy, rising executive, one of the main benefits is that it is fully Pan-African curriculum and participants work and study concurrently, and travel for week-long, in-person sessions with their peers from across Africa 3-4 times a year. Two successful applicants were selected for this opportunity, Lilian Madeje from Tanzania and Ursula Banda from Malawi.
Lillian is passionate about SME capacity building and has founded two organisations to this end. She is extremely clear about why she is pursuing an MBA at this time and how it would help her scale her business (Ekihya Limited). She brought together an impressive mix of intellectual preparation and substantive work and leadership experience that will allow her to contribute in the MBA classroom and to gain the most from the programme.
Ursula Banda is a Graça Machel Trust scholar from Malawi who completed her MBA at the African Leadership University (ALU) School of Business in 2018. Ursula is passionate about advancing women’s economic opportunities and tackling youth unemployment in her home country. She is the Founder of The Village Shop, an artisan manufacturing collective, that aims at bridging the gap between local artisans and their access to lucrative and consistent regional and international markets.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.