Zaithwa Kombe-Banda

Zaithwa is an advocate for the empowerment of marginalized groups, specifically women, children and individuals living with chronic illnesses. For Zaithwa, the key to good governance is civic engagement, and that in order for this to be effective, all sections of society must be represented, especially those who are marginalized. She believes in providing members of these groups with the appropriate resources that can enable them to participate in the decision making process and in recent years, she has been privileged to work with different local and international NGOs that have allowed her to participate in programs that focus on that particular cause.

Besides her passion for social welfare, Zaithwa is interested in the field of psychology, which she studied during her A-Levels at Saint Andrews International School. While at SAIntS, Zaithwa was given the opportunity to represent at the African Leadership Academy Model African Union Conference.  As a delegate in the “Social Affairs and Health Committee”, she researched and discussed the topic of Mental Health in Africa, which caused her to realize the importance of Mental Health and its implications not only in Africa, but in politics as a whole.

Zaithwa was previously enrolled at The University of Edinburgh’s undergraduate Politics program. She aims to continue pursuing an education in the field of politics while independently researching further into Mental Health related issues in her free time.