Malaika Archives

It is so important for our girls to have real life examples of people who have successfully pursued their dreams. It’s equally as important for them to hear from experts in their fields, who know their subject inside and out and can give Malaika’s new insight, perspective and knowledge.

Recently, the students welcomed a number of guests to their newly reopened school classrooms.

Carbone Beni gave our girls a motivational talk about making change through important, proactive work.

Meanwhile Valere, a strong Malaika supporter, offered in-depth science lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic. This helped our girls gain a greater understanding of the virus and how to work toward eradicating it.

Part of what makes our model so unique is this constant input from so many individuals and organizations who bring their own backgrounds, skills and passions to Malaika’s students, holistically educating and preparing them for the future.

Taking advantage of the students being home, local mothers in the community undertook a deep cleaning of Malaika School this past week.

Wearing masks and other protective gear, thoroughly washing and keeping safe distances, they scrubbed and sanitized to prepare the school for students eventual return. We’re so grateful to these women for keeping our grounds clean and keeping our community safe and healthy!

“12 years from now, I hope that they become even more than what they are dreaming of right now.”
Meet Sylvain, Malaika’s amazing headmaster. He is passionate about delivering a quality education that enables our students to reach their full potential, and he truly believes in their abilities.

He cares not only about having a rigorous and holistic curriculum, but also about having a culture that promotes leadership qualities and strong values of giving back to the community within his students. We are so grateful to have had his leadership for several years. Hear his passionate perspective below or through this link.

Noella represented Malaika at British Vogue’s Forces for Change Nightcap with Vanessa Kingori, the magazine’s publishing director, and Natalia Vodianova, philanthropist and co-founder of Elbi (a wonderful organization that’s supporting Malaika).

The event took place at the World Economic Forum in Davos and was a great opportunity for these change making, strong female leaders to communicate and collaborate.

As of February 7, Malaika has launched the sale of its bags and other accessories under the brand Mama Ya Mapendo (Mothers With Love) at Hyper Psaro supermarket. We sincerely thank Hyper Psaro for this goodwill in joining us to sustain all our programs and for believing in Malaika for so many years.

We also thank all the mothers who participated in the production for their steadfast courage in learning and practicing these concepts. In addition to hand making their craft, these women come to read, write and learn entrepreneurship skills at the community center.

This success would not be possible without the commitment of our wonderful staff and that of our volunteers throughout the world who have worked hard to achieve tangible results.

We encourage everyone to visit the supermarket Hyper Psaro and buy our bags and accessories, all of which are made and are also available at our Malaika school or our community center in Kalebuka.

Noella loves to speak individually with as many students as possible when she is in country. In this video, she interviews one of our girls in order to get to know her a bit better. We’ve summarized this interaction in English so you can learn about this lovely young woman as well.

Meet beautiful Alfonsine. She has been a student for eight years at Malaika. Her teacher is Alain and she loves French, math and English. Her friend is Gabriela, and her favorite dish is rice and beans (just like Noella!).

Noella is back on the ground in Kalebuka, working hard and also spending time with students, staff, parents and the community. She was more than happy to present a donation of brand new football/ soccer balls to Malaika students from Manchester City.

Football plays a huge role at Malaika School and Kalebuka Football for Hope Center. We use the sport as a tool for education, social change, health and equality for our girls and the entire community. New equipment is always readily and enthusiastically received. The students will get much use out these donated balls. Thank you Manchester City!

Our founder, Noella Coursaris Musunka, recently sat down with Country and Town House magazine to discuss all things Malaika, her modelling career, and the power of education to transform the lives of girls.

“We started only with three classrooms. I never imagined it would grow to this,” Noella says. Read the article here to learn how Malaika began & what lies ahead.

We’re grateful to Country & Town House for sharing our story!

We loved taking part in World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos last week! Noella joined amazing change makers from Global Fund, Global Citizen Forum and Salesforce in a series of important discussions surrounding the symbiotic power of education and healthcare in transforming lives.

Davos was an amazing opportunity for amazing women and leaders to join together for discussion and collaboration. Check out our brief video below, highlighting Malaika’s participation in #wef20.

“My name is Elisee Tshilanda Balanganyi and I am eight years old. I am the fifth in a family of five children, with one boy and four girls. I am currently in the second grade and have been a student at Malaika for three years.

I like pingpong and when I grow up I would like to become a teacher because I really like my teacher, I would like to be like her. My favourite color is blueand I like eating rice with beans, meat, and chicken.”

Each of our girls comes to school with her own unique background, and we love getting to know these individuals and sharing their stories.

Speakers and Teachers for Motivation