Colicious was only 15 when she had her son Colings, who is now three. His birth meant that she had to give up all her dreams of getting a secondary education. "I thought my education was finished", she said.

But thanks to a scholarship scheme for marginalised girls living in rural Malawi, established by the McConnell International Foundation (MIF) in 2021, with support from the TUUT Charitable Trust, and more recently the Keep A Child Alive Foundation Colicious is now one of 200 girls guaranteed support to complete four years of secondary education.

Secondary education in Malawi is not free, but for only £120 a year you could support a girl like Colicious to complete her schooling, and change her life for good.

Lord Jack McConnell, MIF founder and chairperson, says that the foundation wants to make sure its scholarship scheme not only provides girls with their school fees, uniforms and leaning materials, but also mentoring support.

You can ensure another girl like Colicious can benefit from secondary education by making a one-off donation here.

Or you can get together with friends and family to organise a fundraising activity to help keep a girl in school. We are putting together a team for the 2025 Edinburgh Kiltwalk on 14 September if you're interested.

If would like to tell us about it or to ask for advice, get in touch here and we will do our best to help. We will also make sure people hear about it via our website and social media.

The scheme is managed in Malawi by a leading womens rights organisation WOLREC who have 15 years experience working with marginalised women and girls across Malawi.

All donations will go directly to our Keep Girls in School programme. If you are a UK taxpayer, you can increase your donation by 25 per cent through Gift Aid.

Watch MIFs video to find out more about the scholarship and hear from the girls directly.