EDUCATE, EMPOWER, ELEVATE:
20 YEARS OF MALAIKA
2027 marks 20 years of
Malaika’s incredible impact
Malaika began with a simple belief: When you educate a girl, you transform a community.
Noëlla Coursaris Musunka founded our nonprofit organization with an incredible team in 2007, as an all-girls school in the remote Kalebuka region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the 20 years since, Malaika has absolutely flourished, evolving into a sustainable ecosystem, with a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the thousands of individuals who are directly empowering themselves through our holistic system.
Today, Malaika runs a world-class school where roughly 520 girls have studied since it opened, with 430 currently enrolled. Each year, the foundation reaches more than 5,000 community members through education, sports, and vocational programs. In addition, Malaika provides clean water to over 36,000 people through 32 wells, supports students and staff with daily meals, and promotes sustainable agriculture in the community.
Support and programming for our students does not end once they leave school: we work hard to ensure our graduates have access to scholarships, career guidance, and mentorship to further their studies and/or professional aspirations.
We’re incredibly proud that all of our programs – run entirely by a Congolese-led team – are offered free of charge and work together as a replicable model for other communities to implement: the “Malaika Model Toolkit.”
We’ve truly become one of the most effective, locally-driven examples of community transformation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Join us on this exciting anniversary as we celebrate the students, teachers, supporters, and partners who have helped shape Malaika’s impact. To the champions who have already made this work possible, we are deeply grateful, and we invite you to stand with us as we build the next chapter of opportunity for Malaika.
Want to help lift Malaika’s future?
As our community sought more opportunities for educational development, we responded by expanding our programming from an all-girls school to a thriving ecosystem. Our students are flourishing in our unique educational model, and we have been internationally recognized for this impact, serving as a model for similar projects.
Our vision, beautifully in motion, demands sustainability. The Malaika Legacy Fund is designed to provide financial stability, independence, and perpetuity for the work we do. It will generate a steady annual return to fund core programs—education, clean water, community health, and women’s economic empowerment—to ensure that Malaika’s impact continues forever and is self-sustaining.
As we celebrate 20 years of impact, we are seeking sponsors and partners to help raise the funds needed to sustain the Malaika ecosystem for the next decade and beyond.
Your investment in the Legacy Fund will:
Safeguard the future of free, quality education for hundreds of girls each year.
Sustain our community center programs, directly impacting 5,000+ adults and youth annually, supporting the teaching of employable skills.
Provide clean water to 36,000 individuals through our 32 wells across the DRC.
Anchor Malaika’s Young Women’s Economic Empowerment strategy, training the next generation of women leaders, entrepreneurs, and skilled professionals.
be part of this global effort
support our fundraiser
Make a one-time gift –whether funds or in-kind support– and play a part in shaping Malaika’s next chapter.
organise aN event
Host a dinner, run a race, or get creative with your community to raise awareness and donations for Malaika’s programs.
Match with a Malaika program
Align with a Malaika program—from classrooms to clean water—and help sustain change through meaningful partnership.
$50 – Gift textbooks for the classroom or supplies for the Community Center.
$350 - Support a teacher's salary for a month
$775 – Sponsor a student’s full education, meals, and healthcare for one year. Pay in full or in monthly installments.
$1,600 – Send a Malaika graduate
to university and open the door
to a brighter future.
$5,500 – Sponsor the building of a manual well, providing clean water for an entire village.
$10,000 – Run a vocational
training program, empowering women with skills for life.
to participate in MALAIKA 20
OCTOBER 2026
BE PART OF OUR
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
We’re launching a global celebration to mark Malaika’s 20th anniversary, showcase our impact, and unite supporters to shape the next chapter of transformative education in the DRC.
27 July 2027
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
On Malaika’s founding day, our global community will come together for a Global Day of Action to celebrate 20 years of impact while raising vital support for the next generation of girls and youth in Congo and beyond.
SEPTEMBER 2027
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT MONTH
Our global community celebrates Malaika alumni. In July 2027, we will celebrate another defining milestone: the first cohort of Malaika students, who began at age five, will graduate from university, completing a full cycle of educational investment that began almost two decades ago!