Earning the support and trust of the community surrounding the Malaika school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was vital in its early days, and still is today, says the non-profit’s founder and philanthropist, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka.



In the heart of Kalebuka – a village in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – the Malaika school, which opened its doors in 2011, has just celebrated its first graduation.



Empowering girls through education has been a key focus of the grassroots non-profit organization and founder, model and philanthropist, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka tells FORBES AFRICA that having the support structure that she has, has been vital.



“It has been challenging to help the community recognize the value of girls’ education when it has been a part of their culture to prioritize boys’ education and expect girls to do domestic duties only.



“When we gather the community to play sports we teach them about equality, social cohesion and the value of education. This has helped them to recognize why girls should be educated and to be supportive of this,” she says.



The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimated that the out-of-school population in sub-Saharan Africa reached 98 million in 2021.



However, the organization noted that “important data gaps have been filled in countries that have large out of school numbers but where no administrative data of good quality has been available for over a decade”. This included the DRC (5.9 million).


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ROB3606-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-59153" style="width:662px;height:440px" width="662" height="440" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ROB3606-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ROB3606-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ROB3606-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ROB3606.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 662px) 100vw, 662px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Noëlla and a student. Image Supplied. </figcaption></figure></div>


Since its establishment, Malaika has developed into a primary and secondary school, and a community center and organic farm has been added, along with the refurbishment of 30 wells in the area.



“It has been extremely important to earn the trust and support of the community. Our mission is to empower girls and their communities and if community members were not interested in taking part then our work would have had minimal impact,” Musunka says.



“Our school, and our community center that provides vocational education and training to youth and adults, have been better because of the community’s help and support.&nbsp;Having their buy-in with our community center where they come to play sport and learning together has been wonderful to see and when whole families come and benefit from education, the girls at our school benefit even more.”



She also emphasizes that the support of the community was vital in getting the girls to school in the early days, and that many have been volunteers and helped to maintain the premises and land over the years.&nbsp;



Students at the school receive Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and can learn concepts like VPL, Blockly and Scratch languages as well as other basic and advanced computer skills.



Along with this, the school teaches sustainable farming practices and ensures that the community has access to basic needs, like clean drinking water, all of which can give the community what it needs to uplift itself in the long-term.



“I would like to see more investment in education and community development. Malaika is a sustainable ecosystem that can be duplicated in any context and we have created a toolkit in order to support others to create a similar provision in their communities.



“I would also love to see more focus on sustainable development. There also needs to be a holistic emphasis, including focus on infrastructure and health needs. There needs to be provision that can empower a community with lasting change,” says Musunka, who lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and children, and was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential &amp; Inspirational Women in 2017.



As a mom, a feminist, and a believer in the right to access to education, health, and opportunity, her advice to young girls and women on the continent is to bet on yourself and aim high.



“Keep working hard and don’t give up even if things don’t seem to be going your way, just keep following your passion.”

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Pushing For Change In The DRC: School-Founder On The Challenges And Rewards Of Prioritizing Girls’ Education

The story of love, loss and triumph. The story of humanitarian, model and mother, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka.



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This is a tale of generational loss. A tale about how, at the tender age of five, a child lost everything she held dear. She lost her mother, her father, familiar surroundings and was relocated from the country she’d come to know as her home. However, in losing so much, she seemed to have gained everything and insists on sharing it with others. 



After the death of her father, when Noëlla Coursaris Musunka was five years old, her mother could not afford to keep her and was forced to give her only child (at the time) away in hopes that she would get better opportunities. 



Musunka moved to Belgium, and later Switzerland, and was away for 13 years with very little communication with her mother back home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 



READ MORE |<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2018/12/20/ravaged-by-ebola-and-war-congo-named-most-neglected-crisis-of-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Ravaged by Ebola and War, Congo Named Most Neglected Crisis of 2018 (opens in a new tab)">Ravaged by Ebola and War, Congo Named Most Neglected Crisis of 2018</a> 



“It was a tough time… I received two or three letters from my mom and spoke to her only twice on the phone,” says Musunka. On her return, at 18 years, she was so struck by the abject poverty that she vowed to contribute to the education of her brothers and sisters, and would give back to her country. 



And she has done so in spectacular fashion. 



Musunka has since had a flourishing career as a model and has graced the pages of fashion magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire and Elle. The exposure propelled her to pursue her passion for humanitarian and philanthropic work. 



When asked about what accolades, such as the one she received from the Nelson Mandela Foundation (in November 2018) and the Enhle Cares Foundation, mean to her, Musunka beams and says: “It’s very special. I’m a pan-Africanist. I love Patrick Lumumba, I love Mandela, I love Sankara. I love all these revolutionary people… who want the best for Africa… The spirit of Mandela is [his] legacy. When people remember Noëlla, I want them to remember my legacy. And my legacy and my message is to give back.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="959" height="719" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-School-She-built-in-The-DRC.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39746" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-School-She-built-in-The-DRC.jpg 959w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-School-She-built-in-The-DRC-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-School-She-built-in-The-DRC-600x450.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-School-She-built-in-The-DRC-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px" /><figcaption>The Malaika school. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure>



“I’m very happy that the Mandela family contacted me and said ‘this is what our dad would want. You are a young woman investing in education and that’s the reason we want to honor you’. It’s very touching and I’m not into awards, but this one is very special.” 



Since founding the non-profit organization Malaika in 2007, it has grown from a one-room school house to a world-class school that accommodates 314 students of all ages. As the school continues to operate, it plans on adding approximately 30 girls each year. 



The Malaika Foundation, which is in the village of Kalebuka, in the southeastern region of the DRC, has also established a community learning center, recreational facilities, 17 water wells and farm land. 



This is due to the tenacity and collaborative efforts of 31 Congolese staff members working on the ground in the DRC, and support from a team of 30 volunteers working in the US, Europe, the DRC and other locations. In Kalebuka, the community plays an integral role in the daily running of the school. 



“We have 30 parents a day who come to maintain the school. The whole community is driven. The village takes care of the program and protects it. The community center is good because it’s also important to teach the parents. We have the youth and the parents who come to the community center to learn to read, write, sew, and we have key messages. We also distribute malaria nets. 



“So, we have 5,000 people who go there and all programs are free. The school is for free. The staff [members] give of their time, their skills and their money. We have a pro-bono lawyer, pro-bono auditing … [and] we teach the mothers to make the uniforms. We give the girls underwear, socks and shoes.” 



The colloquail term ‘say it with your chest’, means to say something with determination, self-assurance and without fear. During her interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA at the Da Vinci Hotel in Sandton in Johannesburg in November, Musunka was wearing a t-shirt with the word ‘Revolution’ across it. The education revolution has swept the village of Kalebuka, in the form for Musunka and her team. 







“Two years in a row, we [Malaika School] have passed the national test. The minister of education came to our school and said, ‘this is an excellent school’. We really want to create scientists, businesswomen, politicians, presidents and journalists.” 



The developments go beyond the classroom, and focus on the holistic care of pupils. 



In 2018, the International Rescue Committee named the DRC one of the countries “most at risk of humanitarian catastrophe”. Similarly, according to the Reuters Foundation, “six of 21 agencies polled, including WFP, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, and Christian Aid, named Congo as the most neglected crisis”. 



The ongoing conflict and rampant spread of Ebola are among the reasons the DRC tops humanitarian crises. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39748" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scholars-at-the-School-She-Built.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> Pupils at the Malaika school. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure>



For many of the pupils, the school serves a lifeline in a country where little to no assistance is offered during a time of crisis. 



“The trust that the parents have in the school is very touching. One of the students came to me and said, ‘Noëlla, I’ve been at this school for eight years, and the school changed my life… I cannot believe that in four years, I will have to leave’. That’s their home. That’s their refuge. Taking care of the school is motivating [for them]. 



 “I want critical thinkers. I want them inspired by the beauty around them. They have music, they have sports, they have leadership classes, they have people from all over the world who come to talk to them,” says Musunka. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/02/02/education-quality-and-the-youth-skills-gap-are-marring-progress-in-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Education Quality and the Youth Skills Gap Are Marring Progress in Africa (opens in a new tab)">Education Quality and the Youth Skills Gap Are Marring Progress in Africa</a>



Due to conflict and other humanitarian challenges in the DRC, news reports about the nation have predominantly been about discord. Musunka says the socio-political challenges should be viewed with nuance. 



“Where we are in the southern east [of Congo], there is no conflict, but Congo is a very challenging country. It’s an economic war, not a civil war. It affects us, in a way, when we have to raise funds because the only press [coverage] that people see is the conflict, the rape, [and] the minerals. 



“The question is, who’s behind this conflict? Who’s giving arms to the rebels? Who’s destabilizing the country? Who’s taking the minerals? For me, when I see all of that, the only way to elevate Congo is through quality education… And, these minerals of conflict need to be minerals of peace, minerals of transformation, minerals of elevating the country and being invested in the people. 



“Right now the minerals don’t benefit the people, they don’t benefit the health system, the infrastructure, the education, and people live under one dollar a day, and seven million children are out of school.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1365" height="2048" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39747" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/4.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px" /><figcaption> Humanitarian, model and mother, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka. Picture: Franklin Thompson </figcaption></figure>



The overwhelming reports of discord and conflict about the DRC have not gone unnoticed by Musunka, who is often invited to speak at events about her work. She says that beyond Malaika, she would like to create a different image of Africa. 



“When I go on stage, I’m not Congolese, I’m proudly African. And, there are a lot of women who are doing [just] as well on the ground, but they don’t have the opportunity to come [and speak]. It is this woman that I’m representing.” 



Educating a girl child is important to her, as she would like to see the narrative and perception of African women change. “If you invest in a girl child she will be less likely to be affected by HIV. She will invest in her community. She will take care of her family, probably her country and her continent…” 



Musunka’s parting words to African women and girls are as follows: “Give 100% in everything that you do. This is our time. This is our call to stand, to have a place in society, and let’s have a voice. There’s a proverb, ‘if you go alone you don’t go far, but if you go together, you go far’.”

Tag: Noëlla Coursaris Musunka

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Pushing For Change In The DRC: School-Founder On The Challenges And Rewards Of Prioritizing Girls’ Education

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