A Master of Arts in Media, Communication, and Development student at the University of Malawi (UNIMA) has developed an innovative WhatsApp chatbot named SafeChat Guardian to help children report online abuse safely and privately.
The initiative, supported through a school-based campaign and in collaboration with YONECO, is part of a broader digital media for development effort aimed at protecting children aged 10–17 from increasing online risks such as cyberbullying, sextortion, and exposure to harmful online content.
The chatbot is being piloted in four Blantyre-based secondary schools: Zingwangwa Secondary School, Njamba Secondary School, Ndirande Hill Secondary School and Nyambadwe Private Secondary School.
These schools are also part of the Malawi CERT Child Online Protection Programme.
The SafeChat Guardian chatbot, integrated with YONECO’s child protection channels (toll-free line and email), allows young users to report harmful digital experiences via WhatsApp in a friendly and confidential format. The platform then links users to professional support from child protection officers or counsellors.
“As a student of Media and Communication for Development, I wanted to use digital tools to create something practical and life-changing. This chatbot is designed to give children a voice and a safe space online,” said the project’s student lead Nathan Majawa.
Research-Backed Innovation
The idea was inspired by findings from the 2023 National Survey on Access and Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Households and Individuals in Malawi, conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in collaboration with the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA).
The survey revealed that while only 4% in Malawi have internet access, 23.2% of children reported experiencing cyber or internet-related uneasiness. Alarmingly, 46.1% of those children said they did not report the incidents to anyone.
“This data challenged me to come up with a solution. We needed a tool that children could easily access, trust, and use without fear or embarrassment,” added Majawa.
The project runs from 1st July to 31st July 2025.
