Theresa Kachindamoto left her job as a college secretary to become the first female chief of her Ngoni clan in Malawi.
What she discovered was heartbreaking — girls as young as 12 being pushed into marriage because of poverty and long-standing tradition.
She didn’t stay silent.
She gathered village leaders.
She banned child marriages.
She annulled existing unions.
She removed chiefs who refused to follow the new rules.
She shut down initiation camps, tracked school dropouts, and even personally helped pay school fees so girls could return to class.
In just her first three years, she ended 850 child marriages. Over time, that number grew to more than 3,500.
Her belief is simple — and powerful:
Educate a girl, and you don’t just change her life.
You change a generation.
What she discovered was heartbreaking — girls as young as 12 being pushed into marriage because of poverty and long-standing tradition.
She didn’t stay silent.
She gathered village leaders.
She banned child marriages.
She annulled existing unions.
She removed chiefs who refused to follow the new rules.
She shut down initiation camps, tracked school dropouts, and even personally helped pay school fees so girls could return to class.
In just her first three years, she ended 850 child marriages. Over time, that number grew to more than 3,500.
Her belief is simple — and powerful:
Educate a girl, and you don’t just change her life.
You change a generation.
Theresa Kachindamoto left her job as a college secretary to become the first female chief of her Ngoni clan in Malawi.
What she discovered was heartbreaking — girls as young as 12 being pushed into marriage because of poverty and long-standing tradition.
She didn’t stay silent.
She gathered village leaders.
She banned child marriages.
She annulled existing unions.
She removed chiefs who refused to follow the new rules.
She shut down initiation camps, tracked school dropouts, and even personally helped pay school fees so girls could return to class.
In just her first three years, she ended 850 child marriages. Over time, that number grew to more than 3,500.
Her belief is simple — and powerful:
Educate a girl, and you don’t just change her life.
You change a generation.
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