President Lazarus Chakwera has urged Salima Secondary School players to develop a winning mindset to achieve a lot in their life.
Chakwera made the remarks when he hosted the school to a luncheon at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe Friday after the team won bronze medal at the inaugural African Schools Championship held in Durban, South Africa early this month.
Indeed, it was a rare treat for the youngsters and they will live to remember.
As a token of appreciation, NBS Bank will open complimentary bank accounts for each of the players.
Each account will be credited with K100,000 but the pupils will be able to access their respective accounts after turning 18 years.
That was not all; NBS Bank also gave the players school learning materials.
In his remarks, Chakwera said with a winning mentality the players can achieve greatness in their career.
“The first sign that you have a winning mindset is to believe in yourself and present yourself to take on another challenge after you have suffered loss. I am not just proud of you because you won medals and money but also because you have a winning mindset,” Chakwera said.
In addition, the President encouraged the youngsters to work hard on their studies.
Captain for Salima School team Blessings Alex Sakala presented a bronze medal to Chakwera.
Sakala hailed Chakwera for hosting them.
“This is a motivation to us. We will continue working hard,” he said.
Minister of Youth and Sports Uchizi Mkandawire said the exploits of Salima School were a clear indication that the Malawi Youth Games have started bearing fruits.
Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa) president Blackson Malamula said the team made the nation proud.
“The players deserved special treatment. This is a motivation to the players and we do not take it for granted,” Malamula said.
The trip to South Africa was made possible with funds from the Football Association of Malawi (Fam).
Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa and Malawi National Council of Sports Board Chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise also graced the event.
Fam president Walter Nyamilandu, who travelled to Durban with the team, hailed the players for their exploits.
For finishing third, Salima received $150,000 (about K150 million), which means the school will get K225 million in total having also finished as runners-up during the Cosafa qualifiers at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
During the African Schools Championship in Durban, South Africa, Salima defeated Sainte Rita 3- 1 in the third place play-off at King Zwelithini Stadium.
They also beat Algerian School in the preliminary round.
However, they lost 3-1 to Guinea and 2-0 to Rita but managed a 1-1 draw with Glapham High School of South Africa.
