A Life-Changing Day for Doreen Jasi

October 1, 2025, will forever be etched in the memory of Doreen Jasi, a 20-year-old electrical installation student at Soche Technical College in Blantyre, Malawi.

On this day, she received a package of essential learning materials—items she could never have afforded on her own.

“I am so happy, and I feel like laughing and crying at the same time,” she said, clad in her brand-new work suit and safety boots while cradling her brand-new laptop.

Doreen is one of 191 students across Malawi’s public technical colleges who are participants of a full scholarship from the Mastercard Foundation, under the Second Chance Pathways for Increased Access to Tertiary Education for Marginalized Young Women and Men initiative.

The items included: a work suit, a set of beddings, safety boots, and one laptop. Similar items were in total distributed to 191 students across all technical colleges where the project is being implemented.

Doreen’s parents separated in 2022 when she was in form three at Chang’ambika Community Day Secondary School, Chikwawa district where she comes from. Since then, she has solely depended on her mother, a subsistence maize grower whose farm produce is not enough to feed a family of five that includes three sibling sisters.

Her dream had always been to study a skills-based trade for self-employment, but lack of finances meant she could not enrol at any tertiary institution including state-run technical colleges.

Her fortunes changed she was accepted for the Mastercard Foundation programme that provides a full bursary comprising of tuition, accommodation and meals, transport to and from school, medical insurance and stipend, among others.

It was therefore a dream come true for Doreen who saw herself reporting for studies at the college to learn electrical installation.

“Poverty is not good. It denies you opportunities, but I am glad that my application was considered and now I am here at one of the best technical colleges in the country,” she says.

The learning materials [work-suit, safety boots and laptop] meant she was now fully equipped to attend classes and participate in all college activities without problems.

Doreen who comes from Imfanjawo village, Traditional Authority Chapananga in Chikwawa district, says there are many young persons in her village who completed secondary school many years ago but stay home for lack of funds to pursue tertiary education.

“My own younger sister is at home, selling second hand shoes because mother cannot afford to send her to college. You can therefore understand why I am thankful to be here,” she says.

Currently, 191 students are enrolled in a diverse range of employable trades under the Second Chance Pathways for Increased Access to Tertiary Education for Marginalized Young Women and Men project implemented by FAWEMA in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and FAWE-Secretariat (Nairobi).