Scholar Naomi Muhamba amplifies the voice of the marginalised in Malawi

In 2025, Australia Awards Scholar Naomi Muhamba from Malawi, studying towards a Master of Social Policy at the University of Melbourne, quietly achieved something remarkable. While busy with her studies, she also secured two competitive university grants – each fuelling her commitment to community impact and inclusive education in Malawi.

The first opportunity came through the Peter McPhee Community Impact Grant, designed to support students who drive meaningful change. Naomi chose to invest in the African Studies Student Organisation, helping coordinate its academic symposium on campus. With the grant, she strengthened event logistics and promotional activities, ensuring African research – and African languages – were proudly centred.

“We wanted Africans to be visible,” she explains. “The symposium showcased research with an authentic African touch.” The partnerships formed through this initiative have now laid foundations for the upcoming African Studies Journal, a platform that will continue uplifting African scholarships long after the event.

Raising national awareness on inclusive education

Naomi’s second achievement, the Hansen Little Public Humanities Grant, became the catalyst for a powerful public storytelling project. Under her initiative “Shifting Classrooms: Stories of Inclusive Education in Malawi,” she produced a documentary capturing the lived experiences of secondary school students with disabilities.

According to Naomi, children with disabilities face numerous challenges in schools, so she embarked on research and a video documentary to highlight the challenges these children face and to call on decision makers to act. Returning home on her reunion trip at the end of 2025, Naomi visited two schools in her district. She interviewed students, their parents, inclusive learning support teachers, and headteachers – gathering honest perspectives about progress, challenges, and what still needs to change.

“I wanted to show the reality on the ground,” she says. “In Malawi, awareness campaigns are common, but they rarely capture what is actually happening in classrooms.”

The documentary was screened at one of the participating schools, where she invited Malawi Broadcasting Station and Zodiak Broadcasting to amplify the message nationally. Once the footage went online, reactions came swiftly – including from the government, surprised by the shortage of inclusive learning support teachers despite existing directives. Naomi hopes these revelations will prompt policy improvements.

Turning networks into opportunity

Both grants emerged from Naomi’s proactive engagement on campus at the University of Melbourne. She credits fellow student Daniel Dodoo, President of the African Health and Wellbeing Club, for encouraging her to apply, and for inspiring her to use her reunion travel to create impact back home. “I pay attention to the university newsletters to learn about these opportunities,” she says.

For Naomi, the Australia Awards experience has been transformational so far. “The exposure I have from Australia has removed the fear factor,” she reflects. “It taught me to pursue meaningful work in innovative and ethical ways. When I return, I hope to do even more to amplify the struggles of the voiceless.”

Naomi’s journey demonstrates how scholars’ skill, courage, and opportunity can spark change even before they have retuned home to start implementing their Reintegration Action Plans.

“Thank you so much for believing in me by supporting me on this scholarship. I will forever be grateful to Australia,” she concludes.