"What I want to do is help, the potential here is incredibly big" - Roger Federer on his visit to Malawi

Roger Federer recently visited the East African nation of Malawi to witness first-hand the progress his foundation is making in the country for early childhood development.

The Roger Federer Foundation has been active in Malawi since May 2020 with the 'School Readiness Initative'. The program aims to help vulnerable children secure a strong education by providing access to quality pre-primary schooling.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion's personal visit to the country, which was uploaded on the foundation's YouTube channel, included a meeting with the Malawian government's Minister of Gender. He officially handed over 3000 "early-learning kiosks" with pre-loaded apps to assist the caregivers in their role in helping the children.

"It's amazing to see that in rural Malawi we have a digital device like the early-learning kiosk, making a difference for the children here," Federer said in the video. "The caregivers are doing an incredible job and I loved seeing that."

The Swiss also expressed his desire to help underprivileged kids, who believes have great potential.

"What I want to do is help. I want to give the people and the kids here a chance in Malawi, because I do believe that the potential is incredibly big. This is why I'm here in the field to see it for myself, so I can also tell the story when I come back to Switzerland," he said.

Federer was delighted with the way the children were learning through sport and the role of their parents in the process.He stressed the importance of learning at home, apart from school education.

"I also had the chance to see the learning through the play situation with parents and their children," he remarked. "It was lovely to see because I think it is so crucial for children to also be learning at home and not just in school, and I think that combination is going to be wonderful."

"I've been doing it with my children for years now, so I'm a little bit of an expert" - Roger Federer

Roger Federer previously visited Ethiopia in 2010 for the same cause

Roger Federer has a flair for executing the improbable on a tennis court. Off it, he has two sets of identical twins and understandably wasn't alien to the concept of handling multiple children at the same time. Following through on his experience in Malawi, the Swiss expressed his happiness at playing with the kids there and joked that he was an expert at it by now.

"I really loved playing with all the children at the playground and learning through play. I've been doing it with my children for years now, so I'm a little bit of an expert. We had a great and a lovely time."

The 40-year-old termed his visit a "magical" one. He explained that the interaction between the caregivers and the children was what stood out for him.

"Our trip to Malawi was magical on many levels. Seeing the caregivers was, I think, the highlight and the thing I enjoyed the most. Seeing them interacting with the children in the classroom was fantastic."

Federer believes his foundation is having an impact on the lives of children in Malawi, which is what the Swiss former World No. 1 was aiming for.

The former World No. 1 is slated for a return to the tour in September in the Laver Cup. He is also scheduled for the Swiss Indoors in his home tournament later in October.

"I think the impact is there and that's exactly what we wanted," he noted.