Annie Chikhwaza is the visionary leader of Kondanani Children’s Village which she founded in 1998. The Malawian orphanage has been widely recognised as an example of ‘good aid to Africa’ and Annie has become a spokesperson for the African continent acknowledging its vast potential.
She has been interviewed by local and international media sharing her dream for an Africa without poverty, sickness and despair. She is committed to building a new generation of leaders through the children in her care, who she believes will be Malawi’s next doctors, lawyers, presidents, etc.
Annie Chikhwaza is an ordained minister through Faith Christian Fellowship (FCF) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. She is an inspirational speaker who has addressed churches in many countries including the UK, USA, Netherlands and South Africa. She has the ability to weave scriptural principles into real life experiences as she challenges leaders to overcome obstacles as she has done. Annie talks with authority, sharing lessons she has learnt the hard way, but always with a humorous delivery that delights audiences.
Annie is down-to-earth, with her feet firmly planted on the ground. Her leadership style is collaborative, aimed at empowering others. She is a survivor who has an astounding testimony of being left for dead, but who decided to walk in forgiveness to the perpetrators of the near fatal attack on her life, and who as a result was able to achieve the impossible. Annie’s account of several life and death situations build faith in all who hear them and challenge people to step out and do more for God even in the face of obstacles.
As a young girl, Annie took a lead in caring for those in need; she trained as a nurse and as an adult she single-handedly raised four teenage children. She later embarked on a career in credit management that equipped her to fulfill her dream of helping others. She was a director of a major corporation; started her own management consultancy; pioneered a church in South Africa; initiated various income-generating projects in Malawi to benefit the unemployed; and has been responsible for starting several entrepreneurial ventures. Annie is also an insatiable builder, the architect of all the buildings at Kondanani.
As the Founder and Executive Director of Kondanani, Annie is responsible for the livelihood of about 200 children in Malawi, some with HIV /AIDs; a staff of around 150 people excluding several volunteers who she mentors. She also controls a significant annual turn-over, working with her accountant, analyzing cost centres, setting up budgets. She has much experience in setting up business plans, corporate social investment proposals and fundraising. Not only does she oversee an orphanage, but also a primary school, a secondary school and farm. What she has built at Kondanani is more like a small town!
In addition to Kondanani Malawi, Annie also oversees charitable trusts in Europe: Kondanani, UK and Stichting Kondanani Nederland in Holland.
“For a vision to be successful, it’s important to have leaders who live out their vision within your wider one. This is like having a dream of your own, to achieve something significant within someone else’s dream!” Annie, says. “As a leader I see the need to give others the freedom to contribute and encourage them as they step out. This instills confidence in the team.
You too can be a Visionary Leader
“Being a visionary leader is something you are born with, to an extent, going back to my childhood, I knew how to be in charge, but leadership is also something that can be developed as we begin to see ourselves the way God sees us. I had a low self-esteem at one time, but I trained myself to look at how God sees me and today I mentor others to do the same.”
You too can bee a visionary leader. Read the chapter on Leadership in Annie’s Biography ‘Mother of Malawi’ – Chapter 38 – A Dream Within A Dream. You can download a Kindle version now at Amazon.
