Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kalebuka

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Voss Foundation has built two wells: one at the Georges Malaika School for Girls in Kalebuka, and a second nearby for the village’s use.

The Georges Malaika Foundation (GMF) is dedicated to the advancement of African communities by providing educational opportunities to young girls, aged 5 to 18. Its vision is to mobilize the resources necessary to overcome the insurmountable obstacles a young girl faces to obtain an education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. GMF will provide assistance that paves the way for opportunity, generates greater choice and empowers girls to make informed decisions. GMF endeavors to permanently alter the cycle of illiteracy and poverty within the D.R. Congo.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the lowest rates of primary school completion. GMF is dedicated to solving this education crisis. One of their projects includes building a school for girls with an initial capacity of 100 students and a final capacity of 325, in the village of Kalebuka in the Katanga province, where no school district currently exists.

Voss Foundation’s well on-site at the school is the only source of water for the school, serving the kitchen, toilets, sinks, and health facilities. Without access water, the school would not be able to operate – or exist at all: the well had to be drilled during the construction of the school so that the workers could use the water to make the concrete bricks of the walls!

In anticipation of the school’s opening, the Voss Foundation funded a second well down the road, so the community of Kalebuka would not lose access to clean water once school’s well had been converted to serve the school’s needs. On August 27, 2011, the Voss Foundation joined GMF for the inauguration of the school, the conversion of the school’s well from hand-pump to electric, and the opening of the second well.

Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, girls are forced to abandon schooling to spend their days helping their mothers fetch water. Together the Voss Foundation and GMF can provide the local community with access to both clean water and education.