In Memoriam: First Fellow from Malawi & Freshwater Pioneer Charles Banda (1956-2013)

Charles Julius Banda
Fonte: Charles Julius Banda

The global Ashoka community mourns the loss of pioneer, a social entrepreneur and Fellow Charles Julius Banda (Malawi, 2013) who passed away from complications of liver cancer and kidney illness on the afternoon of 5th August 2013 in Blantyre Malawi.

Charles, the first Ashoka fellow elected from Malawi, founded Freshwater Project Malawi. The organization was providing clean water and decent sanitation facilities to households and primary schools in Malawi’s rural communities by creating a grassroots asset-based community model. The main objective behind his idea is to create local governance systems of water supply to ensure that rural people are healthy and empowered to identify social problems in their localities and to come up with their own solutions to streamline economic development. At the time of his election to Ashoka’s Fellowship ,in 2013  Charles had reached out to more than 750,000 people through the construction of more than 3,000 boreholes and 5,000 pit latrines in various rural areas of Malawi. Read more about Charles’ work and legacy on his fellow profile page.

Charles’ election in Malawi  was significant; as the first Ashoka fellow in that country, part of his legacy is his pioneering work; leading as a social entrepreneur and setting an example for others to follow. Charles, a devout, humble and visionary social entrepreneur and family man is survived by his wife and five children. We invite you to honor his legacy by donating to the Freshwater Project Malawi fund.

images via Freshwater Project Malawi