Local Leaders: Anna Msowoya-Keys

Anna set up The Kwithu Women's Group after losing four sisters and their husbands to AIDS-related illnesses.

Over 60% of the population of Luwinga ward in Mzuzu, Malawi live in unplanned settlements and 34% of families live on less than $1.25 a day. Just as is the case across Malawi, the devastating impact of HIV & AIDS has brought about the breakdown of family units - as breadwinners and parents have lost their lives. Today, there are over 470,000 under-18s orphaned by AIDS across Malawi.

Anna set up Kwithu with 20 like-minded women similarly affected by the epidemic. They started by providing hot meals to 20 orphans a week and today provide three meals a week to 250 children, run an Early Childhood Development Programme, after-school tutoring, provide school and university scholarships and support women and youth to improve their livelihoods.

Anna also set up a boarding school, Mzuzu International Academy, in 2006, with scholarships for particularly gifted children and a social enterprise, Kwithu Kitchen, which provides business opportunities and ownership to local women caring for children in Luwinga Ward.

Kwithu Women’s Group became an Egmont Partner in 2010, and Anna has won Egmont’s Most Inspiring Individual award twice - once in 2012 and again in 2023 – testament to her ongoing inspirational work.

We caught up with Anna to find out how Kwithu’s work has evolved since winning her first Egmont Award.

How does it feel to win Egmont’s Most Inspiring Individual award twice?

I am truly humbled and honoured! Egmont has been such a special partner for a very long time. And to be honoured twice – it really leaves me speechless. I think that this award speaks well of us both – working together over a long period gives us the opportunity to have even more impact.

You first won the award in 2012, how has your work developed since then?

Our work has progressed so much! Our relationship with the community is stronger and we are reaching more vulnerable women and children. We have expanded our programmes, such as the Early Childhood Development Programme and university scholarships.

We are also offering new programmes – like vocational training – that address important community needs. The stigma associated with HIV & AIDS has greatly diminished but it’s still there. A young boy we have supported since he was eight, has become one of Malawi’s leading youth HIV+ advocates. He’s travelled the world, sharing his story and our success, much of which is directly related to Egmont’s support.

What successes and achievements are you most proud of in your work since then?

We are so proud that the first eight children we helped when we first partnered with Egmont have now graduated college! Six of them work at Mzuzu Academy, Kwithu Kitchen and the Kwithu Women’s Group, giving back to the community that helped them. Other graduates have found work elsewhere in Malawi and abroad – which is a great achievement.

How has being an Egmont Partner over the past 14 years enabled you to develop your work?

Egmont truly is a partner. Yes, Egmont funds programmes, and that is critical. But we have a different kind of relationship than with other donors. We can really talk about the programmes: how they should be designed, monitored, and evolve as we learn what works. Our partnership with Egmont is unique, and, because of this, we have truly changed the lives of so many women and children.

What would be different if Kwithu wasn’t an Egmont Partner?

Simply put: We would have accomplished much less. We wouldn’t have helped so many people. Fewer students would have been educated. Additionally, our staff would not be as developed and experienced. They have grown so much and will continue to do great things based on the experience they have gained with Egmont.