Elvis Nshimba has been part of the Malaika team for years and is so passionate and dedicated about working with the community. This is his story about taking the initiative to improve his skills with Philanthropy University #5000stronger
“My name is Elvis Nshimba, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I have been working with the Georges Malaika Foundation since September 2012. Malaika operates in Kalebuka, a village in the Southeastern region of the DRC. The majority of households practice subsistence farming and brick-making, and most people live on less than $1.25 a day. Before Malaika, the underserved area had no access to electricity, clean water, or educational facilities. The literacy rate is amongst the lowest in the country, approximately 8% for adults. Malaika’s vision is to bring hope and transformation to the DRC by providing the tools and opportunities for the Congolese people to move forward on their own terms and live their lives with dignity and purpose.
I teach Grade 5 at the Malaika School and am also a Football Coach at our Community Center. I became a Community Impact Coach to raise awareness among the youth about the social problems that occur in Kalebuka.
For a long time I have had a strong desire to develop leadership skills, so in 2016 I joined Philanthropy University to learn about this subject and about global entrepreneurship and how to scale the social impact. The knowledge I gained during this training changed my way of seeing the world as I learned so many techniques. I was eager to share this with my colleagues so that they too could learn and we could all improve our methods of teaching, communication and management.
Philanthropy University improved the way I work with my organization. Last December, Malaika entrusted me with the responsibility of joining the Nzuri Threads project (a project at our Center that aims to financially empower women in the community through a series of training sessions on literacy, entrepreneurship, sewing and embroidery). The skills I learned from Philanthropy University in leadership and global entrepreneurship enabled me to successfully supervise the training of 47 women until the end of the project. These women are now able to produce bags and different kinds of clothing of the current fashion, which they can go on to sell to generate an income for themselves.
I do not want to stop there, I would like to keep learning at Philanthropy University. Through new courses and communities, I will learn about how to monitor and evaluate the impact that this project brings to the community, allowing us to strengthen it for future years. I would like to continue learning anything that can help Malaika bring development to the community and an unrestricted grant would go directly into these programs, such as to Year 2 of the sewing project, which expands its reach and impact.”