Alumnus Siyani Grant George
Siyani was our beneficiary first for his secondary education and then when studying at Banda College to obtain a degree in B Sc (Agriculture-Family Science), graduating in 2016. The agriculture faculty at Banda College offers three specialised streams, namely, general agriculture; agriculture extension and family science. The latter is focused on nutrition, food security and human development. And that was what Siyani has majored in.
After his graduation, Siyani worked in several short-term contracts. These included a time with PLAN International, a global, independent development and humanitarian organisation which works in 71 countries. This was followed with work in the Malawian Government’s National Statistics Office. His third contract was with the Ministry of Agriculture as a food and nutrition officer. Then in 2019, he worked as a household lister for ICAP, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Currently, Siyani is working as a nutrition consultant with the Ministry of Gender that is funded by the World Bank on a project called Investing in Early Years. Siyani provides technical expertise in the area of nutrition and early childhood development. The project targets pregnant and breast feeding women, children under five and adolescent girls who are aged from 10 to 19.
Siyani says that it’s a fact of life that in Malawi it is hard to obtain a permanent position. But he said, “I have been fortunate to obtain one contract after another that were all connected to my educational training. And because I am gathering more and more experience in various aspects of nutritional consultancy, I can say I am comfortable for my future prospects”.
Siyani is married with a child. His wife is a primary school teacher. In his spare time, he likes to read, cook (a rarity for a Malawian male), and play sports. He also likes to mentor local young people. He regrets that he lives and works so far away from the FOCHTA office, 500 km away. Otherwise, he would have liked to help with volunteering and mentoring for FOCHTA beneficiaries, those following in his footsteps. However he keeps in constant touch with some FOCHTA alumni.