Expansion into early years and our partnered secondary school

2026 marked an exciting new chapter for MSP as we expanded beyond scholarships into early years education and school development.

In January, we opened our first preschool at Mbabzi Primary School, creating a safe, nurturing and engaging learning environment for 50 young children aged 2–5 and giving them the opportunity to build strong foundations for their education.

We also opened our first MSP Girls’ Accommodation, providing safe boarding facilities for 35 of our scholarship students attending our partner school, Lingadzi Leadership Academy. This represents a significant investment in removing the practical barriers that can prevent girls from accessing and succeeding in secondary education.

Our scholarship programme continued to grow too, reaching the milestone of more than 100 secondary school scholarships, while we welcomed a new partnership with Tiyambepo Foundation, extending our reach beyond the Central Region to support students in the north of Malawi.

From early years through to secondary school, 2026 marked an important step towards our vision of creating more opportunities for young people across Malawi.

A new name and 75 students funded

2025 was another year of significant growth for MSP. For the first time, we welcomed an equal number of boys and girls into our scholarship programme, expanding our reach across the entire Njewa zone and selecting high-performing students from 13 schools.

Our university programme continued to grow, with four more students receiving support to continue their education beyond secondary school.

With our work reaching more students and our ambitions growing, we changed our name to The Malawi Scholarship Programme (MSP) — reflecting our vision to expand opportunities for young people across Malawi.

By the end of 2025, we were supporting 75 students across secondary school and university.

Our first partnerships on the ground — and the start of university support.

We expanded our scholarship programme to two schools: Mbabzi Primary School and neighbouring Lingadzi Primary School, providing 26 secondary school scholarships and opening up opportunities for more talented young people from underserved communities.

We also took an important step forward by introducing university funding, supporting our first four students to continue their education beyond secondary school. Peter, Patrick, Patience and Praise became our first university scholars — the original “Four Ps” — marking the beginning of MSP’s commitment to supporting students at tertiary level.

And we began our first grassroots partnership with Rugby 4 Education, sponsoring four places and combining education with the power of sport to create new opportunities for young people.

The Mbabzi School Partnership Malawi is launched!

The charity is registered with the UK Charities Commission, by Alex, alongside her siblings Suzie and David, who both work and live at Mbabzi.

We started with sponsoring the three top students at Mbabzi Primary School

Photo: Alex pictured at Mbabzi Primary School with her daughter Annabel

Fundraising for classrooms

Alexandra, founder and director, starts “The Mbabzi School Project”, aged 16. Over the next ten years, she helps to fund the building of 12 classrooms complete with desks.

Photo: the 1st classroom funded by Alex’s fundraising