WITNESS KANDONGA, A JOURNEY FROM UNCERTAINTY TO HOPE

Back on track Witness pose on the campus

At just 19 years old, Witness Kandonga from Mzuzu has already lived through challenges that would break many. When her parents separated while she was still a child, she was raised by her grandmother a woman of great strength but limited means.

Growing up, Witness watched her grandmother struggle to put food on the table, let alone afford school fees. Still, she refused to give up.

Together with her 21-year-old sister, the two began doing piece work washing clothes, selling small items, and taking on any job, they could find.

“We told each other that if no one would help us, we would help ourselves,” Witness recalls. “It was hard, but giving up was not an option.”

Their determination bore fruit when Witness passed her national examinations and was selected to Mzuzu University to study Bachelors of Education (languages). It was one of the happiest days of her life but joy soon turned into fear. With no money for tuition or upkeep, the dream she had fought for felt like it was slipping away.

“There was a time I felt like everything was falling down,” she says quietly. “I had worked so hard, but it seemed like all my effort was about to go to waste. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn.”

Just two weeks before registration closed, hope found her. Through Ulalo’s Khwima Bursary, Witness received the support she desperately needed to enroll.

 “When I got the call, I cried,” she admits with a smile. “It felt like God had remembered me through Ulalo. That was the moment my life changed.”

Today, Witness walks through the university campus with pride and purpose.

“Every day I wake up grateful,” she says. “Ulalo didn’t just pay my fees they restored my hope. Now, I believe I can become the person I’ve always dreamed of being.”