Renowned Zimbabwean Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa of the United Methodist Church (UMC) has joined the list of dignitaries congratulating Malawi’s first and only Female Aviation Captain Yolanda Kaunda who has beaten the odds in the male dominated field.
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Captain Yolanda Kaunda on the hot seat
Malawian Airlines promoted Kaunda to Captain in March this year.
Bishop Nhiwatiwa came to Malawi Wednesday September 28 through Malawian Airlines to preside over the Annual General Meeting of UMC in Blantyre, Malawi.
According to Nhiwatiwa, he first noticed Captain Yolanda whilst reading the Malawi Tourism Magazine during his flight to Malawi and little did he know that she was the one flying the plane.
“At first I thought it was just an advertisement telling visitors that Malawi is indeed a warm heart of Africa. I never knew it was real. I said to myself Malawi cannot produce this much and later when the plane started off for Malawi we were told Yolanda Kaunda was the one flying us from Zimbabwe to Malawi. Seriously, I was puzzled and I felt some sense of joy in my heart realizing that Africa is really making strides in educating and empowering women though amidst many challenges,” said the Bishop.
During the church service, Nhiwatiwa told the congregation to stand up and give a hand of applause for Yolanda.
He said Yolanda’s success has opened doors to young women and men not only in Malawi but also in the African Continent.
The Bishop said Africans must know the story of Captain Yolanda and he himself will help spread the good news to Zimbabweans to inspire the youths make it in life.
“According to the article in the magazine, Yolanda has persevered a lot to reach where she is now. She is really opening a new chapter in the continent. We already have female Captains in Zimbabwe but not as young as Yolanda so Africans should really learn a great deal here and if possible use Yolanda to encourage and inspire all girls around the world if at least we are to achieve girl’s education,” He said.
The rank of captain is the highest level of responsibility in aviation circles attracting four accolades on ones sleeve.
While Malawi has had a female pilot before, Kaunda has become the first to reach the rank of captain.
The first female pilot, Fellie Mkandawire stopped flying while she was a senior first officer, which is a lower rank compared to that of captain.
Mkandawire was also amongst the people who sent congratulatory messages to Kaunda.-Nyasatimes
