STEKA: Nurturing ‘Malawi’s future president’

By Thumbiko Nyirongo

The wish and dream of beating the odds and producing ‘a future President’, reigns high in the wishes of Step Kids Awareness (STEKA) – a Blantyre based haven for vulnerable children.

Godknows Maseko, founder of the organization, preferably run as a family, says the current crop of the ninety vulnerable children under the armpits of the establishment, are being properly mentored and nurtured for respective leadership roles, in future.

His sentiments came out of his ambition cocoon on Monday, when STEKA received a donation of assorted items worth MK500,000; from former Students’ of Namalimwe Community Day Secondary School, an institution which is also within the proximity of Ndirande Township.

Maseko, who continues to be the father figure of STEKA, stressed that the vulnerable kids under his tutelage, have, despite their society’s status, the potential of even raising the bar of being the engine of the country’s leadership.

“We (STEKA) have the potential of producing a future [or next] State President,” beamed with pride the institution’s founder and Father.

“Malawi’s next president will come from this family (STEKA), and that’s my wish and dream,” said Maseko, adding: “I will not die before l see one of my kids taking the presidential oath.”

He said he becomes excited when well-wishers, for instance the Namalimwe CDSS Alumni, come to the rescue of the institution, in terms of resources. This, he said, would was the chore to ensure its [STEKA’s] achievement of the desired goals.

“The donation is timely, we at STEKA are very grateful,” said Maseko, adding that the institution was grateful of the gesture, and that the bags of maize, cooking oil, learning materials, among other donated items, will go a long way to help the challenges the institution faced.

The Namalimwe Alumnae said they appreciated what STEKA was doing for the betterment of vulnerable children, whose initial society status was being transformed to progressive citizenry.

“We know that what we are giving here is not enough, but we trust that with God, less is more,” said Steven Makonyola, a representative of the Alumina, adding that they are moved with the success of the institution.

Godknows Maseko and his Wife Helen founded STEKA in 2007, with the goal of removing children from the streets and protecting them from lots of abuses, their lots faced, for instance, abject poverty and lack of zeal for the future, as associated with all street children in Malawi.