On Monday February 5, 2018, the first trial class for Junior Medical Academy’s (JMA’s) Leadership and Empowerment Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was completed in collaboration with the Georges Malaika Foundation (abridged to “Malaika”), an organization that operates in Kalebuka to “empower Congolese girls and communities through education.” JMA is working with Malaika’s New Beginning Program to support a groups of abandoned and orphaned girls in Lubumbashi, DRC. The pilot program received overall positive response and the curriculum was noted to fit the class with ease. JMA has been in close touch with the school’s Headmaster, Sylvain Koj Tshikut. He has been motivated to teach and educate Congolese youth after personally seeing the effects of the massacre in Bunia take the lives of his close friends. He hopes to empower girls growing up from a disadvantaged background to become the leaders and innovators of tomorrow to escape the negative effects of poverty.

Malaika’s main focus is on girls’ education and leadership to encourage community building and socioeconomic advancement. Utilizing three main pathways of action, Malaika has sought to leave sustainable impact in the DRC. Their first main pathway is through the Malaika School, an accredited educational institution created for Congolese girls in Kalebuka that provides the necessary materials and instruction for a comprehensive education, including uniforms and meals. Their secondary initiatives include a community center, collaborations with hospitals, and sponsorship programs for orphaned and abandoned girls.

Likewise, JMA also seeks to better underserved and disadvantaged communities through education. In its past history, JMA has brought fundamental biology lessons to its local community and since has expanded to locations internationally. Utilizing these shared values between JMA and Malaika, the two organizations began the trials for the Leadership and Empowerment Program in hopes of advancing their common goal to reach out to communities with the vehicle of education. Implemented under Malaika’s main path of function, the Malaika School, the JMA curriculum for leadership was tried out for its first time, along with JMA’s science materials.

JMA’s leadership material composes of a teacher’s handbook that details the rough script of what to say in conjunction to the slides. The lesson that was covered in the trial lesson was the speaking skills lesson, which covered the performance and content aspect of speechmaking and deliverance. Topics elaborated on included how to engage an audience, body language, and reasoning to properly convey thoughts and gain platform in leadership situations. Photos from the session are compiled below.

Leadership education is needed to inspire and prepare youth to start their own initiatives to benefit the future of themselves, their communities, and ultimately, the world. Both JMA and Malaika seek to create an environment in which young girls will have access to such opportunities, and the success in the trial class holds promise for the future collaborative measures between the organizations to further their common goals with education.