Devon Kilkelly travelled to Ngara, a fishing village of about 4000 people on the shores of Lake Malawi, after leaving high school in 2015.
The former Greymouth girl stayed there for six months and taught at the high school and at the healthcare clinic - an experience which inspired her to train to be a nurse on her return to New Zealand.
Since her return, Ms Kilkelly has funded the renovation of Ngara Nursery School, an early childhood centre, and implemented and funded a free daily breakfast for the children.
The number of children enrolled at the nursery school had "dramatically increased" since 2015 she said, going from 20 to 125 children.
Ms Kilkelly, who is now in the final year of her studies, said she was looking forward to returning to Malawi on June 17 to see the bustling school, and while she was there she would be constructing a playground.
Last year, Ms Kilkelly won a Seven Sharp ASB Good as Gold Award of $10,000 - and after that she was given a children's playground by Park Supplies, in Auckland.
Her partner Tomas Woodford-Webb, who was also a third-year nursing student, and her parents were also going on the three-week trip.
Her mother was a pharmacist and would help in her efforts to "re-educate" the village clinic about healthcare practices, and her father was unofficial "project manager" for the playground.
Ms Kilkelly said she was "really excited" the villagers would be able to meet her family.
"They were so welcoming, I would class it as a second home," she said. At present she was also working on establishing an organisation - "Supporting a Future" - to undertake new projects in the area.
Deep South Technology was giving time to help her create a website.
Other projects Ms Kilkelly was keen to start included a penpal project with Ngara Nursery and a kindergarten in Greymouth.
Harraway Oats had also got on board, making a donation to the "Porridge Project". She understood Netball South was also donating a set of uniforms to secondary school pupils.
Otago Polytechnic had generously contributed to her flight back to Malawi, she said.
