The Challenges

Young child in school uniform with a backpack standing by a classroom doorway, with a group of kids in the background outside.
“Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”
— Nelson Mandela

Educational

  • Roughly 50% of the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo is 17 years of age or younger.

  • 3.5 million primary school-aged children do not attend school.

  • Of those attending school, 44% start after age 6 and only 60% will complete sixth grade.

Economic

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second largest country in Africa, yet one of the poorest countries in the world with 72% of its population living on less than $1.90 a day.

  • Decades of war, violence, and poverty have left the population extremely vulnerable while claiming the lives of over 5 million Congolese.

Political

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is fraught with political instability, armed clashes, and human rights violations.

  • 5.3 million Congolese were newly displaced in 2024, making the Democratic Republic of Congo the second highest in number of internally displaced people at 6.2 million on the African continent, the fourth highest in the world.

Malembe Rise empowers youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo to overcome these local and national challenges. Young people are provided opportunities to learn and to lead by identifying assets around them including skills, passions, talents, and resources. These assets, already possessed in themselves, their families, and their greater community, enable and encourage problem solving that makes an impact for positive change. The Club of Leaders initiative highlights the potential and agency of young people to be catalysts for change in a world that desperately needs it.

Young girl in a classroom setting, wearing a white shirt, sitting among other students.
“I believe in Malembe Rise’s work because it invests in people, not projects. It invests in the youth of the DRC by enriching the country’s education system with the teaching of leadership skills that will enable rising generations to lead their own communities out of poverty. It assigns the responsibility of African development to the Africans who know their communities best.”
— Danielle O.