MALEMBE RISE INC
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Mission Statement
Malembe Rise empowers young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo to lead with passion and purpose through hands-on learning experiences and opportunities to serve their communities.
About This Cause
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the least developed countries in the world. The DRC ranks last in the world in GDP per capita ($400) (CIA 2013), and more than 70% of the DRC’s young people are unemployed (Youth Map 2013). Chronic malnutrition rates (stunting) among children aged 6-59 months stands at 43.4%, a level rated as ‘critical’ under WHO thresholds (World Food program figures). Almost half the population has no access to drinking water, only 14 percent of households have adequate sanitation, and 29 percent of children and adolescents (5 to 17 years) are out of school (World Food Program). Action-oriented education for development is an effective way of preparing young people to address these challenges and achieve sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their families. Making maximum use of local resources, MR's inter-disciplinary program supplements the DRC's traditional curriculum with student-centered learning and action on issues of clean water, waste management, and nutrition. In 2017 MR plans to establish a new focus and teaching module on food production. Without investment in this quality education that teaches children critical thinking and problem-solving skills, the DRC’s children will continue to be open targets for exploitation and abuse rather than citizens and servant-leaders in their communities. Congo’s future has lies in its children. With every educated child in the DRC comes the potential for a leader tomorrow. How Does Malembe Rise Address this Problem? MR is committed to providing a quality education for students in the DRC schools through experiential, project-based learning. According to a meta-analysis of project-based learning studies, students engaged in project-based learning gain and retain a greater amount of content knowledge, process information more easily, and have a more positive attitude towards learning than their peers receiving traditional pedagogies (Holm, 2011). Since MR also enhances project-based learning by focusing on community issues and servant leadership skills, MR provides the opportunity for disadvantaged DRC students to gain critical thinking and problem-solving abilities to apply toward for their current and future challenges. MR’s community-based curricular approach forges a connection between education and the needs and assets of the community through innovative pedagogy and experiential learning. MR believes that in order for education to be meaningful, it must be grounded in everyday experiences and challenges. Utilizing an action/reflection model that emphasizes grassroots participation, MR curriculum is developed in the community with the input of local educators and community members (including local leaders, parents, and students themselves). MR hones participants’ skills as the curriculum is developed, tested, and applied. MR’s curriculum development process includes the following eight steps. 1. MR identifies a potential community-based partner school. 2. MR devotes between 3-6 months educating itself about the community, building trust with teachers, students, school administrators, and community members. This stage is crucial for the remaining six stages. 3. Throughout the trust building phase, MR staff members listen and invite students and teachers to identify community assets and issues that matter to them. 4. Based on asset identification step three, MR then works together with teachers to design simple five-lesson modules on the identified issue children wish to learn about students’ identified community issue. 5. Teachers then integrate this module directly into the pre-existing courses mandated by the DRC Ministry of Education. 6. Upon completion of the module, MR supports the students in the design and implementation of a science fair (Fete de Presentation) to share their newfound knowledge with parents and community members. 7. After the Fete de Presentation, students and teachers conduct community research and from that assessment, they design and implement Community Service Actions (CSAs) to apply their classroom lessons in the “real world.” 8. Finally, MR supports and facilitates the critical skill of reflection and evaluation of the curriculum, including best practices and suggestions for improvement. Each curricular module propounds five principal servant-leadership skills. These skills are premised on helping the students first recognize the assets around them, including their own ability to learn. Starting from a position of strength, the students then learn to: (1) observe as they identify a community problem that matters to them in consultation with teachers and MR staff; (2) research the identified issue; (3) analyze data gathered on the problem or issue and present their findings at a science fair; (4) design and implement a proposed solution to the particular issue through community service; and (5) reflect on their actions in order to improve future actions. MR’s project-based curriculum promotes international understanding through promoting service-learning in the DRC’s educational system. MR’s curriculum teaches servant leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that the DRC needs for a brighter and more prosperous future. The values that the MR curriculum seeks to emulate are as children learn to: (1) seek the truth through applying what they learn in the classroom to real-world issues that impact their lives, (2) practice fairness through learning to work in teams for the betterment of their community, (3) build goodwill and better friendships through their Community Service Actions, and (4) explore ways to use their education to benefit their school, families, and the Mpasa II community. Currently, MR develops and implements its curriculum at College des Savoirs (CS). MR’s long- term goal is to continue to share its process curriculum in other community-based schools throughout the DRC. In late 2016 MR formally partnered with a third school and thus has three community-based partnering schools: College des Savoirs (CS), Lukunga, and Kapini Primary and Secondary schools. In the 2015-2016 school year, MR tested its outreach endeavor with Lukunga School, operated by a Dutch nonprofit organization with whom MR has been building a relationship since 2013. MR has already involved Lukunga and Kapini teacher learning circles with CS teachers, and Lukunga teachers have begun teaching project-based curricula at Lukunga. MR is currently implementing a three year Sustainability Curriculum (that began in 2014) focused on student leadership training through community service in public health, sustainable agriculture and food security. The expansion of this program to 800+ students (through partnering with the three DRC schools) requires more Teacher Learning Circles, increased Community Service Actions, and overall capacity building. The Student Learning Gardens is also a component of the Sustainability Curriculum. We anticipate that demonstration gardens will encourage supplementary food production through home gardening and the planting of tree crops and indigenous plants. This will be promoted through community presentations and service projects that have been the highlight of previous student projects. At the same time, the garden will facilitate student exposure to local leaders in their communities, foster better community and school collaboration, as well as stimulate increased student interest in agriculture as a possible future career. In 2016-17, MR is continuing these efforts with the expansion of the DRC staff. The development of School Learning Gardens at CdS and Lukunga School is a major undertaking. In addition to expanding the TLCs to Lukunga and Kapini Schools, the addition of the School Learning Garden activity will be labor intensive for the staff in the DRC. This will include additional training of teachers, planning of the gardens (size, layout, composting, plantings, maintenance tasks, etc.), initiating community service actions in three locales and oversight to insure that the implementation of the school gardens takes place within the context of student-centered project-based learning. MR believes that the best way to make a difference in students’ lives is through long-term commitment and collaborative learning. Rather than using the method of one-on-one training with each school’s administrators, which is effective but requires a great amount of resources and long-term follow up, MR aims for sustained teacher development through Teacher Learning Circles (TLC). MR’s Education Model focuses on peers sharing concrete challenges and best practices on educating students. These TLC`s are being conducted in the DRC between College des Savoirs (CS) and Lukunga teachers, and through cross-cultural TLCs between the teachers at CS in the DRC and The Project School in Bloomington, IN.