Chikwawa, Malawi —The market had fallen quiet. For Paul Matiyasi from Chikwawa, slow business meant only one thing: another afternoon arguing about football with fellow vendors under the shade of a tree.

Customers came and went. Conversations drifted between the English Premier League and village gossip. Across the road, young people filed into a nearby youth club.

Paul barely looked twice. To him, the club was where young people with too much free time gathered to "waste the day." He and his friends joked about those who attended. Surely, they reasoned, anyone serious about life would rather be working than sitting through discussions about health or relationships.

Paul recalls:

I thought the youth club was for people who had nothing better to do. Looking back now, I realise I was the one missing out.

At 24, Paul had built his life around his small vending business. He was known among friends for another talent too, writing poetry.

Whenever he finished a new poem, he would perform it to his friends at the market. They applauded enthusiastically every time.

But deep down, he wondered whether the applause meant anything.

I wasn't sure if I was really talented. Maybe my friends were simply being kind.

That uncertainty lingered until curiosity rewrote his future. One afternoon, Paul decided to find out what kept drawing so many young people into the youth club he had spent months ridiculing.

The club, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through the EmpowerED Programme funded by the Government of Canada, was discussing issues many young people in the district rarely talked about openly: sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and the harmful practice of child marriage.

Then came an announcement that instantly captured Paul's attention.

The project was launching an arts pitch competition for young creatives. Spoken word artists, poets, singers and writers were invited to create original works addressing the challenges affecting young people.

For Paul, it felt as though someone had opened a door he never knew existed.

"I knew this was my chance," he says. "For the first time, I could find out whether my poetry could speak beyond my circle of friends."

Over the next few days, words poured onto paper. His poem told the story of a girl whose childhood was stolen by child marriage. It challenged communities to protect girls' futures instead of cutting them short.

Weeks later, Paul received news his poem had been shortlisted. The competition would take him to Lilongwe for the final performance. Here, he would compete with other young creatives finalists from Mchinji, Nkhata bay and his own district of Chikwawa. It would also be his first journey outside the familiar boundaries of his community.

"I was nervous," he remembers. "Everything was new, the city, the audience, the stage. But once I began performing, I forgot my fear."

His words found their audience. When the judges announced the winners, Paul had finished third, earning MK850,000.

For many, the prize money would have been the headline. But for Paul, it became the beginning.

He invested the money into his business, giving himself greater financial stability. However, the experience transformed something far more valuable, his confidence.

My poem wasn't just heard. It moved people. That was the moment I realised words can change how people think.

The journey did not end there. Together with the overall winner of the competition, Paul was invited to collaborate with one of Malawi's celebrated musicians, Piksy. Inside a professional recording studio, the young vendor from Chikwaya found himself helping write and record a song capturing the dreams, struggles and aspirations of Malawi's young people.

It was a moment he had never imagined.

"Growing up, I listened to Piksy's music," Paul says. "I never imagined I would one day stand beside him creating something together. It made me believe that no dream is too far away."

Today, the same youth club he once mocked has become part of his weekly routine.

The football debates at the market have not disappeared, but they are now accompanied by conversations about protecting girls, preventing gender-based violence and ensuring young people know where to access sexual and reproductive health information and services.

Paul has become one of the club's strongest male champions, encouraging other young men to question harmful norms and become allies for girls and women.

His poetry has changed too. The applause is no longer enough. Every verse now carries purpose.

"I've learned that talent has meaning when it improves someone else's life," he says. "If my poems can convince even one family to keep a girl in school, then every word is worth writing."

Paul's story has also reshaped how young people in Chikwaya view the youth club. Many who once stood outside laughing now walk through its doors. Some come to learn. Others come to discover talents they never knew they had.

Paul hopes his journey is only beginning. His dream now stretches far beyond the market where he once spent idle afternoons debating football scores. He wants to become one of Malawi's leading spoken-word artists and use his voice to champion girls' rights and inspire young people to believe in themselves.

"The youth club didn't just change my future," he says. "It showed me that my voice matters. And if one voice can inspire another, then together we can change our communities."

Joseph Scott, Communications Specialist