A Stronger Community for a Stronger Future — Noëlla Coursaris Musunka

Hello everyone, I'm so happy to update you on another aspect of my trip to the Congo.

This week my schedule went up a notch in terms of being hectic. I traveled to New York to attend various meetings and solidify plans for our May event. Amidst this hecticness I found moments of respite as I reflect on the incredible community Malaika has strengthened in the DRC. Not only do we have their support, but we have their unflinching involvement in all our initiatives and programs at the school and center. I’m especially thankful for the support of fathers in the community. They have stepped up in unprecedented ways and welcomed me and our organization with open arms. They are helping us empower their daughters through their own support and understanding of the importance of education in the lives of girls. The fathers, and parents in general, have been extremely receptive of our ideas and have most importantly offered their own. One of my favorite meeting in the Congo is when we bring all the parents together to have a conversation about how they feel things are going in their lives and in the lives of their daughters that attend the school. This has created a network of support that has been essential especially when we have encountered tragedy, like when we lost our sweet third grade student Myriam or when one of our first graders had an accident. The parents in the community step up and support one another like nothing else. I am immensely grateful to have such a strong community to help our programs flourish.

xx Noella