It would not come through as ordinary to hear that contestants in beauty pageants are driven by their passion of children’s welfare and development. 21-year-old Grace Mazinga has taken up the challenge and would like to use the Miss Malawi 2022 platform to advocate for the development of scientific investigation skills in early childhood education to instill in Malawian children the ability to identify, study and solve real-life problems.
In her exclusive interview with Malawi Voice, Grace reveals why she believes in effective early child education in Malawi, saying awareness of early child education is minimal in the country and citizens need to collectictively be aware of and invest in early childhood education.
“I am concerned that lack of effective early childhood education in Malawi has resulted in more crimes, less productivity, unnecessary social economic expenditures, infection outbreaks and the list goes on,” said Grace.
“I would like to use the Miss Malawi 2022 pageant as a channel to campaign for policy changes that will see issues of early child education getting the focus and attention that they deserve in our communities.”
In relation to the current cholera outbreak, Grace took the chance during the interview to urge mothers to remind the kids to wash their hands after toilet use and before eating; give them sanitizer to clean their hands before and after touching someone.
“It is important to encourage them to see a doctor if they get a tummy ache. Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated,” she said.
“And if they start to open bowels, let them drink a mixture of 8 teaspoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 litre of clean bottled or boiled water — as recommended by WHO. They should drink this as they await treatment. I recommend that they take the Oral Cholera Vaccine.”
Driven by her love for and understanding of children, Grace has lined up a number of activities that will see her engaging educators, parents/caregivers, religious and education institutions, community leaders and policy and decision makers about early child education.
Grace is currently working in a medical research lab at UNC Project Malawi in Lilongwe. She is also pursuing a post-graduate certificate in education at Liverpool Johnmoores University under UNICAF.
She is inspirational