My Father Made Sure I Was Treated

When I Took Over, The Economy Had Almost Collapsed. I Told Malawians We Needed To Pass Through Difficult Times. Two Days Ago I Even Cut My Own Salary By 30% To Show We Are Making Sacrifices.

The First Time I Was Privileged To Meet President Mandela Was During His Visit To Malawi... Shortly After He Was Released From Prison. I Was Amazed By His Humility And His Great Sense Of Leadership... Mandela's Character Has Shaped My Life.

My Dear Husband, Richard, Has Been The Driving Force Behind My Success And Rise To Whatever Level I Am Now. My Story And Legacy Is Incomplete Without His Mention.

What I Am Saying Every Day To Malawians Is That Time Has Come For Us To Move From Aid To Trade. We Have Picked Several Sectors That We Think We Can Focus On Immediately In Order For Us To Grow Our Economy. So We Have Decided To Diversify Agriculture, We Decided To Develop Our Tourism Sector, We Have Decided To Develop Our Mining Sector.

Overall, I Have Formed Three Major Organizations: The National Association Of Business Women, The Young Women's Leaders Network, And The Joyce Banda Foundation. Under The Foundation, We Have A Huge Program That Targets Women To Teach Them About Hiv And Other Diseases And To Give Them Economic Empowerment.