Partner Organisation

Youth Coalition for the Consolidation of Democracy

Our partner organization in Malawi is the Youth Coalition for the Consolidation of Democracy (YCD). The organization is based in Nchalo, Chikwawa District, in southern Malawi. Led by Francis Folley, YCD is committed to sustainably improving living conditions in the Chikwawa District within ten years. To achieve this goal, the organization primarily focuses on the education of children and young people. For Francis Folley, it is essential to provide a comprehensive education that goes beyond learning the alphabet and basic arithmetic. He believes that education should enable young people to understand complex contexts and to develop, plan, and implement organizational and entrepreneurial ideas. He maintains close contact with the schools in the district and supports talented young individuals so they can pursue higher education.

Secondly, the organization aims to create sustainable change on cultural and political levels. One of their major achievements was during elections, where, through participation in a nationwide campaign, they significantly increased female representation in parliament. This involved identifying and training women, traveling to villages to raise awareness, and using radio interviews to encourage voting. Although the project is now complete, it has had a significant and lasting impact.

Another major initiative is the prison project. The prisons are severely overcrowded, and inmates often wait up to eight years for a trial or acquittal under inhumane conditions. Most of the offenses would, in Switzerland, result in little more than a fine. Due to prolonged pretrial detention, many innocent people are imprisoned. YCD regularly runs a rehabilitation program in the Chikwawa prison and actively supports inmates in speeding up their legal processes while also assisting their families—often left behind in extreme poverty—with essential supplies. Thanks to the collaboration with Patimalawi, the project has now been expanded. All participants in the rehabilitation program receive a small start-up grant upon release to help them reintegrate professionally.

Read more about this project in the report by Birgit Zurbrügg and under Service Packages.

YCD

Experience report

Service Packages

Francis Folley

I was born on December 12, 1982, and I am the only boy in a family of six children. I attended the Catholic seminary Mzimu Woyera for my primary and secondary education. Later, I completed a three-year diploma in Philosophy and Humanities at St. Anthony's Catholic Seminary, followed by a Bachelor of Theology at St. Peter's Catholic Seminary. In 2009, I was ordained as a Catholic priest. I worked as a priest for two years before deciding to leave the priesthood. I then pursued studies in Public Administration at the University of Malawi, earning a bachelor's degree, and later completed a Master of Public Administration at the University of Bolton (UK) through the Malawi Institute of Management.

During my school years, I was very fortunate to be supported by a Dutch Catholic nun who paid my school fees. Before that, I had been expelled from school several times because my parents couldn’t afford the tuition.

While I was at university, I decided to found the non-profit, non-governmental organization Youth Coalition for the Consolidation of Democracy – YCD for short – in 2012.

My aim in founding this organization was to support street children, orphans, and children whose parents cannot afford to pay for their education. Currently, we are supporting 152 underprivileged children with school fees, uniforms, notebooks, pens, and shoes.

The organization also aims to support unaccompanied juvenile offenders by offering them protection and moral support in prisons, courts, and police cells. YCD is also committed to reducing child marriage in Malawi, as the country has one of the highest rates of child, early, and forced marriages in the world. It ranks 9th among the 20 countries with the highest rates of child and forced marriage. The organization also advocates for the participation and representation of women in public life.