Wendy Favour Harawa: A tale of music, charity and care
Malawi’s award-winning gospel musician and philanthropist Wendy Favour Harawa track record speaks volumes of how confidence, dedication and vision can help one to live their dreams. Among many other awards, in 2025, Harawa was honoured with the International Female Philanthropist Award at the African Achievement Awards for her exceptional contributions to music, cultural exchange, and the empowerment of African talent. In this interview, with Together magazine editor, Joseph Kayira, Harawa talks about her Wendy Harawa Foundation, and how it is dedicated to empowering lives and transforming communities across Africa, with a particular focus on education, youth empowerment, and social development. The excepts
When was the Wendy Harawa Foundation established and what is its vision and mission?
The Wendy Harawa Foundation was established eight years ago, and has been going since; but formally registered with the government in 2023. However, the work started long before that in communities, schools, and through quiet acts of giving.
There are many foundations in Malawi working to ease the burden of poverty on orphans, the underprivileged, women and children, among others. Which areas do you find more challenging as the Wendy Harawa Foundation and how are you assisting?
Our vision is to create a Malawi where every child, especially girls and orphans, have the tools and confidence to stay in school and shape their own future. Our mission is to ease the burden of poverty through education support, dignity packs, and youth mentorship. We don’t do everything. We do a few things well: keep kids learning; keep girls in school; feed the children because a hungry child can’t learn.
Harawa: We are working together with the Busy Global Initiative in a children first mission (Photo Credit: Wendy Harawa Foundation)
The biggest challenge isn’t knowing what to do; it’s sustainability. Poverty is wide, but our hands are small. We focus where drop out rates are highest. School retention: Many children leave school because they lack a K500 exercise book, a bag, or sanitary pads. We provide full school packs so “lack of materials” is never the reason a child quits.
We also focus on girl-child support. Period poverty is real. Our sanitary pads donations keep girls in class every day of the month. We deal with youth hopelessness: We run mentorship sessions so young people see possibilities beyond poverty. We can’t fix everything, but if we keep one child in school, we have changed a generation.
Funding is the reason many foundations don’t last… where are you getting funding to finance the projects you are involved in? What are the challenges you face?
We are 100% self-funded through my personal businesses. Any work I do, whatever I earn – I get whatever I can from it – and reach out and touch. So it’s my personal resources. We don’t wait for big donor cheques. We start with what we have. If partners are to come we will be very grateful. For the Busy Global Initiative, it’s strictly funded by Busy Signal himself and myself.
You just announced your collaboration in charity work with Jamaican music icon Busy Signal. What areas do you intend to intervene as Wendy Harawa Foundation and Busy Global Initiative; and is it a one-off initiative or a long-term initiative?
This is not a one off. It’s a four-day children first mission in the second week of August 2026 under Busy’s Global Initiative Impacting Lives. This Malawi mission and the Jamaica one, are pilot projects. Busy Global Initiative and Wendy Harawa Foundation plan to replicate this model in other African countries and world wide annually. But it starts in our homes, here with Malawian children, like he did in Jamaica. If we prove impact in August, we scale in 2027. So, no, this is the beginning, not the end.
Why do you think are our youths still in deep-seated poverty? How can we bail them out of poverty?
Our youths are poor not because they are lazy. They are poor because the system keeps giving them symptoms treatment, not root solutions. We give them a workshop, but no capital. We give them a diploma, but no job. We tell them to “be entrepreneurs” but don’t teach them how to register a business or access MK50,000 startup. Poverty ends when opportunity begins.
There are many good initiatives and programmes that target the youth in Malawi but at the end of the day we seem to be taking two steps forward and three steps backwards in the process disadvantaging youths. Where are we getting it wrong as a as different communities and as a nation when it comes to youth empowerment?
We’re getting it wrong in three ways: We plan for youths, not with youths. Most programmes are designed in Lilongwe boardrooms. If you don’t ask a 19 year old in Ndirande what they need, you’ll miss the mark. We love pilot projects, hate follow through. We launch plenty “youth hubs” and fund them for 6 months. Then the money dries up. Youths need consistency, not photo ops. We separate “youth empowerment” from real economy. You can’t empower youths outside of agriculture, tech, and trade.
Harawa: Serving less privileged communities (Photo Credit: Wendy Harawa Foundation)
Going forward how can the Malawian youth be supported to make them drivers of change and transformation?
Give them three things, Voice, Capital, Trust. Voice: Platforms like U-Report where youth data goes straight to decision makers. If 10,000 youths say “we need ICT centres,” the budget should shift. Capital: Not millions. Start with MK100,000 – MK500,000 micro grants for youth groups with solid ideas. Fund 1,000 groups, not five big conferences. Trust: Let youths lead. If we do that, Malawian youth won’t just “participate” in change – they will drive it.
On the music front, what should your fans expect? Any latest albums, singles or mega shows lined up before the end of the year?
Music is my first love, and I haven’t left it. Right now, 90% of my energy is on the Foundation and the Busy Signal Children First mission, because children can’t wait.
Harawa: Music is my first love (Photo Credit: Wendy Harawa Foundation)
But yes, fans should expect new music. Im currently outside Malawi shooting a music video for my yet to be released single ‘Osayiwala’, that speaks to resilience and hope, same message as my charity work. As for shows: Yes! Sand Music Festival is coming September 25th to 27th at Sunbird Nkopola.
Your final words?
To Malawians: We’re a country of givers. Even when we have little, we share. That’s our strength. To the youth: Your poverty is not your identity; your potential is. Stay in school. Speak up, start small. The world will adjust.
And always put God first and your trust in Him. To partners: If you want to help Malawi’s children, don’t send pity. Send partnership. At Wendy Harawa Foundation, our doors are open.
