The Joyce Banda Foundation

Joyce Banda started the Joyce Banda Foundation in 1997 as a tool want to empower women and youth at the village level. The Foundation just formalized the work the Joyce Banda had been doing since she was in her twenties: feeding the poor, empowering the powerless, fighting for the oppressed and taking up the cause of the disadvantaged. Today, while our founder serves Malawi at President, we continue the work here the Foundation.

On April 7, 2012, Her Excellency Joyce Banda ascended to the presidency after the sudden death of her predecessor and an unsuccessful coup by the opposition to find the tenth poorest country on earth spiraling further downward. She was invited on the ticket as vice-president to attract the women voters she spent a career serving, only to be quarantined when victory was sealed. Yet this once single mother from a small village embraced the improbable, meteoric rise to lead her country. She immediately confronted a nation in doubt and an economy grinding to a halt by launching an aggressive reform agenda that included politically risky decisions like floating the rigged currency, liberalizing key exports, and re-establishing relations with donor partners who had left the country. Knowing the struggle firsthand, President Banda continues to be an outspoken champion for the rights of women, children, and the impoverished—always looking to, “put money in the pockets of the poor.” She lives her populist political style by cutting her salary, selling the presidential jet to fly commercial, switching from luxury government vehicles and tackling corruption. President Banda’s fearless leadership style has attracted the notice of others. Forbes named her the most powerful African in 2012. Time Magazine lists her in their 100 most influential this year. She seeks a full mandate in continue her visionary leadership in the 2014 Presidential elections. But before she did all this, she started in the Joyce Banda Foundation to empower women and youth at the grassroots as well as see villages across Malawi transformed. This was her heart and her vision, and we work everyday to see it come to fruition.