Maud Chifamba is the youngest Zimbabwean to enrol at the University of Zimbabwe at age 14. As we commemorate the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, 263Chat will profile 16 most influential women in Zimbabwe. The focus will be on their achievements and the contribution they have or are making to uplift society and the country at large.
Maud Chifamba
Maud was born in 1997 in Zimbabwe and was accepted at the University of Zimbabwe to study for an Accounting degree. In 2012, Maud Chifamba was the youngest university student in Africa. She is also a receipinent of a US$9,933 scholarship fund from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Chairman’s Charity Fund.
Primary Education
Chifamba lost her father in 2002 when she was 5. By that time, her mother was suffering from cancer and could not care for her and her brother who two years younger. This prompted Maud to fall under the care of a step-brother, who at the time was residing at a plot allocated to him during the land reform programme. In 2003 she started her first grade at a school named Hurudza primary school. In 2005, when she was in grade 3, during the mid-year exams, she was mistakenly given a grade 4 exam paper, on which she scored 100%. The following term during the same year, she requested a grade 5 test paper, on which she achieved the highest score. She proceeded to grade seven and came out with 6 units.
Secondary and Tertiary Education
As Chifamba did not have money for secondary education, she studied on her own (home schooled) and completed her Ordinary Level in just two years, in 2009. She was later identified by the Ministry of Education and awarded financial assistance for her advanced level, upper six in 2011, and she scored 12 points. Her mother succumbed to cancer that year. After making headlines internationally, Chifamba was awarded a $9,993 scholarship by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. In 2013 Chifamba scored distinctions at the University of Zimbabwe, where she was studying for her Bachelor of Accountancy Honors degree.
Achievements
In 2007 Chifamba was named the best student under the most difficult conditions in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. In December 2012, Chifamba was 5th on Forbes‘ list of Top 100 Youngest Powerful Women in Africa. She was entered in the book of African Records as the youngest university student in the continent.
She graduated with an Honors in Accounting from the University of Zimbabwe on 29 September 2016 and is now pursuing her Zimbabwe Certificate in Theory of Accounting (ZCTA) at Chartered Accountants Academy.
Philanthropic work
Maud has worked on various projects to help the less privileged in society. She was instrumental in raising funds for the completion of a classroom block at her former school, Hurudza Primary School.
Maud is an inspiration to every girl and woman out there that feels like they are nothing. She believes in chasing dreams and giving everything (100%) towards any goal she sets her sight on.
Quote from Maud Chifamba
“Be clear about what you want and never be afraid to go after it. Everything in this world is possible as long as you are willing to pay the price for it. Trust in God and do your best.”
