When I Gave Birth To My Fourth

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.

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.

I Sat Down In 1989 And I Made Up My Mind At That Point That I Was Going To Spend The Rest Of My Life Assisting Women And Youth To Gain Social And Political Empowerment Through Business And Education. I Convinced Myself Economic Empowerment Of Women Was Going To Be Key, Especially In A Country Like This Where Most Women Didn't Go To School.

I Got Married At 22 And Remained In An Abusive Marriage For 10 Years. I Made Up My Mind That That Was Never Going To Happen To Me Again. I Made A Brave Step To Walk Out In A Society When You Didn't Walk Out Of An Abusive Marriage. It Was Mental And Physical Abuse.

In 1989, I Started The National Association Of Business Women. We Incorporated Microfinance And Different Job Training For Women. We Did A Survey, With Usaid, That Found Women Lacked Training, Credit And Information.