“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters”
Chris is a Malawian national born in Kasungu district and raised up in the Capital Lilongwe. On completion of my secondary education, he mulled over career choices which included being trained as a medical doctor, a pilot or a finance person. His career path however turned out quite differently after deciding to start in the banking industry some 26 years ago. Conservation called and he then purused a tertiary education which includes; a Certificate in Wildlife Management obtained in Malawi and a Diploma in Natural Resource Management obtained at the Southern African Wildlife College which are now complemented by a series of Short Course Programmes and different work experiences.
While on the hunt for money and who he had not yet become, Chris left Malawi’s Parks & Wildlife in 2006 and landed up in Johannesburg’s concrete jungle where he briefly worked for a tours and charters private company. Whilst also dabling in other opportunities, life threw him some challenges that made him realize that: “If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters.
“Nature Conservation was in fact my passion, I had to find a way to reach a destination which could offer a balance of what I both needed and wanted.The Southern African Wildlife College revived my aspirations of working for a nature conservation based organisation when it hired me 12 years ago. Here I could practice most of the things my heart desired. Having landed a job in Skills Development I realized that this was part of the solution to my destiny. I have now also become more involved in Project Management where I am able to find a balance in finance, nature conservation and resource management. I feel to be on top of the world because I do not have any regrets about the paths life has taken me on so far, especially since no experience is in fact wasted along the way.”