Unicef, Airtel use netball power to reach out to girls
United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has partnered Airtel Malawi and Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) in a national advocacy partnership that will use the power of netball to protect the rights of adolescent girls in the country.
Unicef will be using billboards erected by Airtel, complete with pictures and messages of Malawi Queens’s players.
“The campaign, which features the Malawi Queens players, aims to provide role models and inspirational messages in both Chichewa and English. Through a series of visuals, it seeks to encourage girls to speak out against violence, delay marriage and finish school,” said Angela Travis, Unicef Malawi communications officer.
Both Airtel and NAM have welcomed the partnership, saying it is a great concept that will help keep girls in school and also morally right.
“As you know Airtel Money are the official sponsors of the Malawi Queens. Our role in this campaign is that Unicef will be using our billboards to write their messages of inspiration to the girls. The billboards contain the name, the picture and messages of top Queens’s players.
As Airtel, we are honoured to be part of this noble campaign,” said Airtel Malawi communications manager Edith Tsilizani.
The players that are appearing on the billboards are Queens’s captain Cecilia Mtukule, Carol Mtukule-Ngwira, Tina Kamzati, Takondwa Lwazi and Joana Kachilika. Some of the messages that appear on the billboards are: “Know who you are and where you are going before marriage,” from Lwazi;“Don’t be afraid to speak out when pressured into marriage” from Mtukule- Ngwira.
