RiseMalawi was founded in 2008 by Zamumtima (Za) Chijere and Tinashe Saka, alumni of the UrbanPromise International (UPI) fellows program with a passion for vulnerable children and vision for transforming lives in rural Malawi.  Za currently serves as Executive Director and Tinashe serves as Programs Director.  Since then, they have been joined by Mavuto Moveti as High School Director and Chikonde (Chiko) Mbewe as Youth Coordinator.  Together, they have built RiseMalawi from a tract of bare land into the campus it is today, including a boys dorm, a girls dorm, classroom buildings, a new kitchen and pavilion, and space for a staff lounge and offices.  Za, who has an absolutely infectious smile, proudly showed us around the campus and gave us the history of its development, making sure we had a chance to visit the new library space and science lab, both still under construction.  Principal Moveti’s excitement about these new spaces and what they’ll add to the quality of education RiseMalawi can provide were evident as he talked about their dreams for the future.  He shared with us how well the students had performed on their last round of exams, and how they look forward to gaining the kind of reputation that will draw even more students to their school.  We got to meet their current students, and from everything we saw and experienced while we were there, we think Za and his team have plenty to be proud of!