Mtendere Chambwinja

Mtendere Chambwinja is a social worker, child rights activist, and mental health advocate committed to creating communities where people, particularly children and young people, are seen, heard, protected, and given the opportunity to thrive.

Her journey is grounded in a strong belief that meaningful change begins with people. She studied Social Work at the University of Malawi, where her academic interests developed around social protection, community development, social policy, child rights, and the ways in which policies translate into meaningful change in people’s everyday lives.

Through her experiences with the Non Governmental Coalition on Child Rights Secretariat (NGO CCR), Mtendere has engaged with children, government ministries, civil society organisations, and other duty bearers on issues affecting children across Malawi. These experiences have strengthened her understanding of advocacy, policy engagement, child participation, accountability, and the importance of ensuring that children are not merely spoken for, but actively included in decisions that affect their lives.

Beyond child rights, Mtendere is deeply passionate about mental health. Her experiences in mental health settings and community advocacy have exposed her to the effects of stigma, limited resources, and inadequate awareness. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to creating conversations around mental wellbeing that are accessible, compassionate, and particularly relevant to young people.

She also believes that meaningful impact does not always have to begin with something extraordinary. It can begin with giving what one can, listening to someone who needs to be heard, sharing knowledge, or simply choosing to make another person’s day a little easier. This philosophy inspired The Social Impact Series with Mtendere Chambwinja, a personal initiative exploring simple and meaningful ways of contributing to the lives of others.

Mtendere is particularly interested in the intersection of social protection, child rights, mental health, community development, and social policy. Her long term aspiration is to contribute to policies and programmes that move beyond paper to create tangible and sustainable improvements in people’s lives.

She continues to learn, grow, and explore new ways of turning knowledge into action. At the heart of her work is a simple belief:

Touch a life, a day at a time.