User:Banonie

Smile and Greet Friends with Genuine Love “I want to be remembered as someone who was sent to fulfill his purpose in life on Earth.” A Biography of Banonie Olad Mwale as told to Winston Mwale

Winston Mwale (WM): To set the ball rolling, tell me a bit about yourself: When were you born? Where were you born? Which number are you in your family?

Banonie Mwale (BM): My name is Banonie Olad Mwale. Olad is an abbreviation for O=Onnex L=Lainala (My Father’s childhood name) A=Atende chiuta satana ndi munyengi, D=Dudza(my late father’s name). I was born in 1986 in Ngala Village (which is now under Group Village Headman Mnjiri) in the area of Senior Group Kamkondo North of Nkhota-kota, in central Malawi. I was born in a family of two children: my Brother Thomas Olad Mwale, who is currently in South Africa and myself.

WM: What is your marital status? BM: I am married to Grace Chingeni Mwale. WM: Did you grow up in a patriarchal society or the opposite? BM: I grew up in a patriarchal society, where my father was the sole bread winner. He had control over everything. Unfortunately, I did not spend much of my time with my parents. I grew up with my grandparents and other relatives. WM: What were your experiences growing up in that setting? BM: There were a lot of challenges growing up with grandparents. Because I was the only child around, I was always being considered as the last option in the family whenever it came to benefits. For example, I remember when I was 6 years old I felt that I was grown up and needed to start school. When I told my grandfather about my plans, he told me point blank that I was then too young to start school. But I now know that his real intention was to turn me into a head boy for his cattle. WM: What is your academic background? BM: I did my primary school at a number of schools, including Ngala Primary School in Nkhota-kota, Maganga and Mtsinje Primary schools Makanjira in Mangochi district. Later, I did my secondary school education at Chikhulupiliro Private Secondary school in Phalombe. After my secondary school, I did tertiary education. Currently, I hold a Certificate in Customer Service and a Diploma of Business Administration Management obtained from Sites Power Training Institute under the City and Guild. At present, am pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with the University of Wolver Hampton UK, attending classes at Westford University College Sharjah, in the United Arab of Emirates. This, of course, is despite the fact am facing some challenges in pursuing the program, which was initially supposed to have taken me 2 years. WM: Did you go to an Early Childhood centre? If yes, where? If not, why? BM: I did not attend any early childhood center as there was none in my village, including the whole of Nkhota-kota North at that particular time. I guess even if we had one in the area, I could not have attended because I don’t think my parents could have afforded to raise the money to pay school fees for me. WM: Did you face any challenges in your academic life? If no, who made it possible that you should not face the challenges? If yes, what were the challenges? BM: In my academic life I faced a lot of challenges? After passing my standard 8 examinations in 2001, I was not selected to secondary school. To make matters worse, my parents could not afford sending me to a private secondary school because they were so poor. So, I had to stay home for 3 years waiting to see what fate had in store for me. Surprisingly, my grandparents had enough money that they could have used to pay for my school fees and other expenses, but then there they held some unexplained and strange beliefs. My Grandfather used to say that he could not have paid school fees for me because he believed he would not have benefited anything from me even if I got educated. He used to openly say that my mother, father or Uncle were responsible for educating me. The whole situation confused me a lot, and I was totally affected. I remember hiding from my friends whenever they were coming back from school. Honestly, I used to be ashamed being asked such sarcastic questions like: “What are you doing? What are your plans now? Are you planning to get married?” I vividly remember my mother whispering to my Uncle before her death. She told him that if anything happened to her, he should have tried his level best to educate me because my brother was already grown up. Sadly, my father died in 2002 and then the following year, 2003, my mother died also. Soon after my mother’s death in 2003, my Aunt came to visit us in Likuchi village, home to my late mother’s parents. Apparently, my late Uncle had instructed my Aunt to take me along with her when going back to Phalombe, where they lived. By then, my Uncle was working as a Land Conservation Officer at Phalombe District Agriculture Station. Unfortunately, when she was about to go leave for Phalombe after the visit, she told me she didn’t have enough money for the bus fare to take me along with her. I remember her telling me she had really wanted to take me with her to Phalombe so that I could continue my education there, but since she did not have enough money, she said she would send me some money later after he had she arrived in Phalombe. Fortunately, when I was fishing, I used to keep some money after selling the fish. I was hoping that one day I would have used the money as school fees for my education. Therefore, I decided to use some of the money as my bus fare to Phalombe. When I told my aunt that I had some money which I could use for the bus fare, she was so excited. The next day we took a bus to Phalombe. No sooner than I arrived in Phalombe, than I started looking for a secondary school where I could continue with my education. Later, I found out that there were several private secondary schools in the district, including Chikhulupiliro Secondary School. Interestingly, Chikhulupiliro means faith, which I guess I needed so much at that time. In the locality where we stayed, Phalombe Agriculture Housing, I met someone young man who went to Chikhulupiliro Secondary School. His name was Thoko from Dedza. Thoko told me many things about his school, including how good and affordable Chikhulupiliro Secondary School was. Before informing my Uncle anything about my next plans, I begged my new friend Thoko to lend me his notebooks as well as help me copy the notes into my notebooks. Within one and half weeks I was done with the copying of the notes. I then wrote an application letter to Phalombe Secondary School Head teacher for a place in form one, either as a night school or a day scholar. Am not sure what really happened, but I think he just threw away my letter, because I didn’t hear back from him. I went to speak to my Uncle to ask him if he could enroll me in any of the private secondary schools in the district. At first he insisted that I should go back to primary school and sit for the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination once again. The idea didn’t go down well with me, therefore, I refused it out-rightly. Later my Uncle told me to look for a place at any private secondary school in the district by myself. Having heard good stories about the school, I did not hesitate but to go to Chikhulupiliro Private Secondary School. By then the school was located alongside Zomba Road, near AGORA Building. After speaking to the Director of the school Mr. Blessings Njorinjo, I was granted a place in form one. The next day I started school, with my notebooks full of notes that I copied from my friend Thoko’s notebooks. Although I started school during mid-term, my performance was not bad. In fact, I was among the top 10 students in the class. Later in form two, I did very well, too. But during the final term in form 3 something happened. I had to stop going to school because my Uncle got seriously ill, and was admitted to the Holy Family Hospital. My brother, then doing his course at Blantyre Technical College, had to come to help us with the situation. I remember my brother and I donated one litter of blood each to our Uncle in our desperate attempt to save his life. While my Uncle was bedridden, I tried to contact all our relatives to pay school fees for me. But then none of them came forth to pay school fees for me, and, as a result, I had to miss my classes for almost 2-3 months. Fortunately, my uncle recovered from his illness, and I continued my education thereafter. In form four I did very well, just like in the previous classes. In fact, I was selected as the best student in the class that year; and during mock examinations, I scooped the first position. Sadly, one month after my final Malawi School Certificate of Education Examinations, my Uncle got admitted to the hospital again. He was hospitalized for almost 3 months. When the results of the 2006 MSCE were released, I was one of the students who had passed the exams. After checking the points that I had scored during the examinations, I went to share the results with my Uncle, while on his sickness bed. After telling him I had passed the MSCE exams, he smiled, but little did I know that that would be his last smile to me. The same evening my Uncle was pronounced dead. I cried uncontrollably because I could not see anyone paying for my college education. The future looked totally bleak for me. But, like they say, life had to continue. Fortunately, I later got a job at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre where I worked for one and half years. Then later on I got an opportunity to the U.A.E. to work for one of the world’s iconic hotel resorts, Atlantis the Palm Dubai. This is where I got a chance to continue with my college education.

WM: What was your dream when you were growing up? BM: In the main, I had two dreams:  to study Engineering or Business Management or Business Administration Management, and establish my own engineering company or to get employed by a very big company. Of course, I also dreamed of becoming a pilot. WM: Who did you look up to (in your family) as you grew up? BM: I used to admire my brother Thomas; he was so intelligent and sharp in class from his young age, and, of course, my Uncle also who used to inspire me a lot.

WM: Who or what can't you do without in life? BM: I can’t do without my wife, Grace. Also, I can’t do without my Samsung android phone.

WM: How do you start your day? BM: I always start my day with a word of prayer.

WM: When did you realize that you can be of help to other people? BM: I realized that I can be of help to others when I was in Phalombe. While still at Chikhulupiliro Private Secondary School, I used to meet with a lot of friends from different back grounds. Some of them were very poor and could not afford decent pairs of trousers. Despite my own challenges, I remember giving away some pairs of trousers to others who were less privileged than me.

WM: What prompted that realization? BM: I felt so bad whenever I saw someone suffering beyond what I had gone through. WM: Who has/have supported you in life, and how life-changing has that (support) been?

BM: Honestly, a lot of people have supported me throughout my life, especially during my childhood and teenage days. When I was secondary school, for example, Aunt and Uncle’s friends used to give me note books. But there are two people that I will always remember. First, there was this other man who was really an angel. Of course, sadly I can’t remember his name or how he looked like. Let me explain how this man helped me. I first got to know this man when I arrived in Phalombe. He was a very close friend and colleague of my late Uncle. One day he asked my Uncle whether my Uncle could allow me to stay with him for some time so I could help run his grocery which he had opened at Naminjiwa Agriculture Unit. He gave me his bicycle that I was supposed to be using for transportation from Phalombe BOMA to Naminjiwa. One day, I was on my way to Phalombe when I found this old man going to Phalombe Trading Center. The man requested me if I could give him a lift. I did not hesitate to give him the lift he was looking for. On our way, he asked me a lot of questions, including the question that led me to explain why I was in Phalombe. I told the man that I was staying with my uncle who was working at Phalombe Agriculture Station and also that I was in Phalombe for school which I was about to start in two weeks’ time. I told him about the whole story of what happened to me. He offered me the following pieces of advice: He said since I will be stay with my Uncle’s family, I should have borne in mind that only my Uncle was my relative and my Aunt was not. Therefore, if I needed to accomplish my goal, I had to be in good relationship with my Aunt, and love her as my real mother. He told me that, because if I wronged my Uncle, he would not chase me away, but then if I wronged my Aunt, things would be so nasty, and I would be probably be chased away from the house. The second piece of advice that the man offered to me was that, since I was in Phalombe for school, I had to do all I could to meet my goal. He said I should have avoided admiring other students who were from wealthy families because their parents bought them whatever they wanted, but as for me it would be hard to access such items. I did exactly what he told me until I finished my education without any getting into conflicts with my Aunt. In fact, I ended up becoming like the first born child in the family. People around our place used to call me Mwale, as the first born of the family. My Aunt used to trust me in everything up to date, and I still call her my mother. The second person that I will always remember is Jenny Naylor, a lady from London, UK. During her holiday to Malawi in 2001, it so happened that we met at Mtsinje village, T.A. Mkumba, in Manganjira, Mangochi. When I met her at the age of 13, I spoke little English. I could only know how to say some greetings and ask a few things. I remember asking her to be my pen pal. She had given me a piece of paper that had her postal address which I kept like gold in my mother’s house. Naylor and I kept in touch up to when I was at the age of 22, when she helped me secure a job in Dubai, U.A.E in November 2008.

WM: Has your religious background played a role in shaping you? How do you think it has shaped you? BM: My religious background has played a very vital role in my life. Religion has helped me to a disciplined person, and because of religion, I am a disciplined person up to date. When I was in secondary school, I used not to play dirty games. I was mostly focused on my education, and was afraid not to do anything that would jeopardize my future. And I feel it was God Himself who took me throughout all these experiences for a specific purpose. I have hope that before departing this Earth, God would want me to accomplish something for humanity.

WM: What is your happiest childhood experience? BM: My happiest childhood experience used to be when my mother came to visit us to the village. She used to bring me some cloths, money and some school materials. The whole experience made feel like heaven was then on Earth. WM: What is your saddest childhood experience? BM: My saddest childhood moment is the death of my mother. I cried so much and felt out my element---out of this world.

WM: What experience/s will you cherish in life? BM: I remember one day, as a student, I was so broke, but I wanted to find money to send some letters to one of my friends, Bernard in Nkhota- kota and Jenny Naylor. I had nothing in my pocket. Of course, I did not want to ask my Uncle for the money. So, instead what I did was that I woke up early in the morning, took a broom and started sweeping the surrounding, while thinking of where to source the money for the stamps. While I was about to sweep some dry leaves which were in front of me, I saw a 10 kwacha bank note lying on the ground and by then, 10 kwacha was enough to post local mail. With gladness, I continued sweeping. When I was about to sweep a certain corner of the house, I saw a 20 kwacha bank note lying in front of me. I picked up the money. Later in the afternoon I went to the post office to post the two letters. When my Aunt woke up, she found the whole surrounding clean.

WM: What is the saddest moment in your life? BM: The saddest moment in my life was when I lost my Uncle, late Glynford Mwale. When they had discussion with my mum before her death, Uncle promised to sponsor me educationally up to any level, but then his death after my form four examinations left me hopeless. My head was swimming, and was totally dumbfounded as to how my future will be.

WM: Have you had an experience where you thought, "Oh, this is it. I am dying. There is no way out?" If yes, what experience was it? BM: When my Uncle died in 2006, I lost all hope, and I thought it was the end of my life. I saw the whole world coming down crashing. I remembered those days while I was doing form three, when my Uncle got sick. None of my relatives could volunteer to pay school fees for me, and I vividly remembered seating on the veranda at night, looking at the stars, with tears dropping down my cheeks. I had no hope. I knew that then the relationship with my Aunt was over; I knew I had to look for somewhere else to stay. I didn’t even think of all my friends that I had. To be honest, I was totally in a confused mood.

WM: How did you find/map your way out of such a situation? BM: I accepted the challenge and asked God to lead my life, and remembered that everything happened for a reason. I waited in Phalombe for almost several months for government to provide us with transportation to Nkhota-kota. Later we left Phalombe with my Aunt and cousins. I spent only two weeks in Nkhotakota, and then I later followed my brother in Blantyre, to stay with him. After two weeks in Blantyre, I was called for a job interview, and, although my brother was looking for a private security job for me, I got hotel job as a waiter at Malawi Sun Hotel in the commercial city of Blantyre.

WM: Do you have any regrets in life? BM: I don’t regret anything in my life. I have used most of the opportunities I have encountered in my life.

WM: What is your philosophy in life? BM: My philosophy in life is “Do not neglect showing hospitality to strangers, for doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.’’

WM: Which values do you hold dear in life? If yes, why is it important to hold such values, and how have they helped you relate with others in a globalized society? BM: Smile and greet friends with genuine love. Life is too short. This helps me go along with all kinds of people. Smiling has no bad effect, and is contagious. Smiling makes you look young and are acceptable to everyone.

WM: What are your hobbies? BM: My hobbies are reading widely, browsing the internet for information, watching football and travelling.

WM: How do you spend your time when not doing this game that brings bread to your table? BM: I spend some time on the internet promoting my foundation and also praying and sometimes studying.

WM: If you had your way, which things would you reverse in society? BM: One thing that I would change in society or the world would be to ensure that the environment is green again.

WM: In your view, what is the greatest challenge facing society today? BM: Uncontrolled population growth, climate change and HIV and AIDS disease are what I think are the greatest challenges facing society today. I think in the main, most of these challenges are a result of neglecting the law of God. God gave us dominion over the Earth but we are abusing it.

WM: How can such challenges be solved? BM: They need to be massive awareness campaigns on the dangerous of over population, especially to villagers and how to overcome it. We need to have technical colleges in every district to help the youth master technical skills. Chiefs and village headmen have to work on replacing forests in their communities. Most of the rivers are drying up, with no trees to protect them. The traditional leaders have to be strict in controlling population, like coming up with an age limit for those getting married.

WM: What is the greatest opportunity facing the world today? BM: The world has turned into a global village: whatever is happening in any part of the world can be accessed or learnt by almost anyone. Technology is everywhere. It means everyone has an opportunity to learn and change something.

WM: How can we utilize it? BM: In business management and some other disciplines, there is what is called SWOT. S=Strength, W=Weakness, O=Opportunity and T=Threat. We need to use our strength to explore every opportunity.

WM: If you were not doing what you do, what would you be doing? BM: If I was not doing what I am doing now, definitely I would be a well-known farmer or fisherman. I would concentrate on Agro-Business.

WM: Which things did you give up to become who you are? BM: I gave up a lot of thing to become what I am now. For example, I stayed away from my youthful desires and concentrated on what I wanted to be in life. I did not get into relationships like what other fellow youths, because my aim was to become what I wanted to be. And yet to do more with my life.

WM: Which things did you embrace to become who you are? BM: I accepted what I am and I always have a vision of what I want to be in future. This makes me analyze every situation in life, and makes me become a disciplined person.

WM: You are currently based in the U.A.E. How did you find yourself in a foreign land? BM: I found myself in the foreign land because there was a day when I entertained a stranger without knowing that it was an Angel of God and this opened up my opportunity to get a job as well as advance my academic qualifications.

WM: How do you want to be remembered? BM: .I want to be remembered as someone who was sent to fulfill his purpose of life on Earth. I want to be remembered as a person who was fearful to God.

WM: What is your vision of your community? BM: My vision is to transform lives of people in my community through education and business empowerment. I want to teach them how they can responsible in their own community. God gave us dominion over the Earth and we have all the authority to come up with conducive environment to achieve our goals. That’s my goal. With God’s help, I have think I will achieve my goal just like the biblical Joseph did to his people.

WM: If you were to point at things that make you happy in your community, what are they? BM: One thing that makes me happy in my community is to see youths attending school at early age. I feel happy seeing children in my community walking a short distance to attend primary school. Last but not least, I like seeing people working hardworking in my community.

WM: What do you think is your responsibility towards other people? BM: I always think God created me so special. I feel I have more responsibilities to carry out. I like what Isaiah 58:10-11 say: “Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness and the darkness around you shall be as bright as a day. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things and keep you healthy too and you will be like a well-watered garden like an ever flowing spring.”

WM: Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time? BM: In 10 years’ time I see myself transforming my own society and partly impacting the world through the programs that I am planning to set.

WM: Anything else you may wish to add before we end this interview? BM: I would like to advise my fellow youths that, the journey to success is not easy. But the best success comes when you put your trust in God and let Him work through you. A lot of decisions will be required to be made on your journey to success. You will need to work hard because there is nothing that comes on a silver platter, especially in Africa, where you have to start everything from scratch. For example, despite all what I have gone through, I am now Founder of Banonie Mwale Foundation. Through my foundation, we are empowering a lot of people through education, and giving some capital to start small businesses as well as provide relief transportation for the sick. I am also a CEO of Bano & G Investment, which runs some supplying and transport businesses.

Key Highlights

•October 2008: With the support of former Senior VP Human Resources, Suresh Menon, it is agreed that a job offer would be extended to Banonie at entry level as a Pool & Beach Cleaner. Jenny helps him get a passport through an agent in capital city Lilongwe. Despite having never travelled outside Malawi, Banonie accepts the job and arrives in Dubai to start work at Atlantis The Palm. • 2008 - 2014: Banonie puts aside some of his monthly salary and on a holiday visit back to his home in Nkhotakota village, creates a committee of village elders and trusted friends to start building a primary school. He decides to call the school the Jenny Naylor Nursery School, and establishes the Banonie Mwale Charitable Programme. His savings cover the salaries of two teachers which start classes using the village church pictured.

• Dec 2014: Banonie returns to Malawi to marry Grace Chingeni whom he’d known since 2007. Jenny flies to Blantyre to be at their wedding. Before returning to Dubai, Banonie visits his village in northern Malawi to see how the school is progressing. He has a short period in a Dubai hospital recovering from Malaria before returning to work.

• Nov 2015 - Banonie is awarded “Legends of the Month: Colleague - November 2015” Winner; Banonie is awarded “Legend of the Quarter: Colleague - Winner”; and is then first runner-up Atlantis Legend Award of the Year, awarded by Serge Zaalof, President. See his finals awards interview here where he talks about how he ended up at Atlantis; Banonie subsequently wins legend of the Month April 2016.

• Nov & Dec 2015: Banonie’s new wife Grace applies for job opportunities advertised on the Kerzner Careers website. She visits Banonie in Dubai, is interviewed by Human Resources and is subsequently offered a position in Ticketing. She returns to Dubai, and started work in her new role in January 2016.

She is known amongst her colleagues as “Amazing Grace”

• Today - Banonie has changed roles and is Special Event and Guest Activities Coordinator at Atlantis The Palm. He is progressing with a Business Administration Course at Westford School of Management at Sharjah. He has dedicated his free time to promoting the school’s cause and is committed to improving the education of poor children in his home country.

•November 2017: Banonie Mwale launched his Foundation with four international ambassadors accompanying him.

Website sources: https://www.nyasatimes.com/banonie-mwale-foundation-launches-girl-child-education-project-nkhotakota/ http://www.manaonline.gov.mw/index.php/national/education/item/6948-banonie-mwale-foundation-for-girl-child-quality-education https://www.mbc.mw/index.php/news/technology/item/5304-banonie-mwale-foundation-geared-to-promote-education https://malawi24.com/2017/07/03/well-wisher-donates-bicycle-ambulance/ http://timveni.com/banonie-mwale-foundation-for-girl-child-quality-education