Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, a Congolese/Cypriot philanthropist and international model, is the Founder & CEO of Malaika, a grassroots nonprofit that empowers girls and communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through a school, a community center, and a clean water program.
Founded in 2007, Malaika has grown into a fully-functioning ecosystem that consists of a free accredited school that provides a comprehensive education to 430 girls, a community center that offers a range of programs to 5,000 youth and adults, a clean water program with 28 wells that services over 35,000 people each year, technical classes educating and certifying future electricians and mechanics, and a sustainable agricultural program that provides two nutritious meals each day to students and staff. Malaika's community-driven approach serves as a replicable model, and all programs are offered free of charge.
Noëlla is a voice for the power of girls’ education worldwide. She has shared her insights at several world-class forums, spanning the World Economic Forum in Davos to Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, and MIT university halls. She is an Advisor at Concordia and an Ambassador for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. She sits on the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network and the L'Oréal Fund for Women Endowment Fund Advisory Committee. In 2017, Noëlla was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential & Inspirational Women of the Year, and in 2018, she received an award at the 100 Years of Mandela celebration.