Pilirani is working to provide disadvantaged young women in Malawi with an education. After becoming the first woman in her community to attend the University of Malawi, Pilirani founded the Bunda Female Students Organisation (BUFESO) in 2012 to help young women and girls to become involved in the fields of science and agriculture.
As well as offering scholarships to those who are unable to afford school fees, BUFESO employs students as interns during academic holidays and trains them on topics such as sustainable agriculture and climate change. Interns are also paired with mentors with agricultural experience. So far, 110 university and secondary school students have been supported by scholarships, 360 women farmers have been trained and six agribusiness projects have been implemented.