The school I, Susan Namangale, went to when I was young is called Chombo Full Primary School. It is a sorry sight and even though I introduced chess at the school, something needs to be done to rebuild the classrooms. I seek well-wishers who read my story in the New York Times and Peace Corps pages to support me rebuilding Chombo Full Primary School to a modern school with well ventilated classrooms and of course use one of the classes for chess games after school.
New York Times Article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/learning/summer-reading-contest-week-5-what-got-your-attention-in-the-times-this-week.html
Peace Corps:
https://www.facebook.com/peacecorps/posts/when-susan-was-nine-peace-corps-volunteers-gave-her-sister-a-chessboard-as-a-pri/1065830798983382/
The Gift of Chess names Susan Namangale as Global Head!
On behalf of our Board of Directors, we are thrilled to welcome Susan Namangale as our Global Head of The Gift of Chess. Susan brings nearly three decades of experience, emanating from her humble background growing up in a little known village of Chombo in Nkhotakota, Malawi to becoming the only female Federation President in Africa during her time.
During her chess leadership in Malawi, Susan attained awards at National Sports awards for 3 consecutive years as the best administrator and Sports Council chairman's excellency award. Susan brings with her Project Management experience having worked in various international institutions in Malawi supporting projects to minimize adverse impacts on communities. Susan holds an MBA, postgraduate diplomas in Management, Marketing and Finance and BSC in Environmental Science.
We are excited and believe that she will use her skills, leadership, and passion for chess to lead our Gift of Chess mission to use chess as a low-cost and yet impactful catalyst to expand opportunities globally.
Alongside our incredible team of leaders, ambassadors, volunteers and supporters, Susan will help lead us strategically in our shared goal of distribution of 1,000,000 chess sets globally by 2030.
Contact: [email redacted]
From Susan:
Over the past few days the Board of Directors of The Gift of Chess, which is a USA federally recognized 501(c)(3) charity, announced my appointment as their new Global Head.
This appointment is a profound honor not only to me but to all chess lovers, who are sparing time for chess outreach in their communities. Never has there been such a time in my lifetime where I felt such an honor to be entrusted with such responsibility.
I have accepted this appointment with a sense of humility, gratitude and believing in myself that I will lead the global outreach to distribute 1 million chess sets across the world by 2030.
I am in the process of meeting the global team and assessing our current needs and operational structures. In the coming few weeks, I will be laying down a comprehensive strategy on how we will move forward to make our goal a reality.
I am looking forward to working with our incredible Gift of Chess Team who are already doing a great job from all over the world.
~ Susan Namangale
You can make a difference by donating today to The Gift of Chess.
The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization transforming lives through our universal language of chess.
Leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst for change, we distribute chess sets globally, supporting our key initiatives of educational, prison, and refugee outreach.
Organizer
The Gift of Chess
Beneficiary