DG Sanginga honors passionate student in IITA Malawi

In April, DG Nteranya Sanginga visited IITA Malawi, for the handover ceremony of the Aflatoxin laboratory and to open the renovated offices of IITA Malawi. This visit birthed a great opportunity for a young and passionate research technician, Madalitso Mhango, who is also a fourth year student of Journalism and Mass Communication, at the Pentecostal Life University, Malawi.

Mhango works in the Aflasafe laboratory, IITA Malawi, to sponsor herself through university education, because her parents cannot afford her tuition. “My father is a driver who earns so little, and my mother is just a housewife. Both of them cannot afford my tuition. I started working with IITA so that I can pay.”

DG Sanginga chose Mhango because of her passion, and invited her on a motivation trip to IITA Ibadan. She is the youngest among her colleagues in Malawi.

Her two-week visit to IITA Ibadan comprised a week-long visit to the Aflasafe factory and a five-day training course on “Science communication skills enhancement”, organized by the IITA Communication Unit. As a student of communication, Mhango is passionate about reporting science news and hopes that she can begin to practice those things she has learnt in IITA. “I have learnt a lot from IITA and the Communication unit. I would like to thank DG Sanginga for inviting me here; I don’t take this for granted.”

While presenting her with a Certificate of Training, DG Sanginga expressed his pleasure at Mhango’s trip to Ibadan. He said, “you are not just a communicator, but you will also be a scientist.” At the end, Mhango was grateful for the opportunity, and considered it a great boost to her education and career.