How Noëlla Coursaris Musunka teamed up with Roksanda Ilincic to empower women – and gave modelling new meaning
Mother-of-two Noëlla Coursaris Musunka tells us how her charity, Malaika, and fashion are improving lives of Congolese children and their communities
Many people wonder: what it would be like to be a model?
Our appetites for learning about the high-profile lifestyles of these tall supermodels – from how they stay fit and healthy, to what they eat and what they wear – is insatiable.
I have been lucky in that my modelling career gave me a voice that I have been able to use to fight for the things I believe in
Yet when it comes to African model Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who recently teamed up with Serbian-born, London-based fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic to launch an exclusive collection, we would much rather ask her about her efforts to improve the living conditions of African children.
She founded Malaika in 2007, a non-profit grass roots organisation that empowers Congolese girls and their communities through education and health programmes, as part of her mission.
As an advocate for peace, she has spoken at countless forums, including Unicef and the 2018 World Economic Forum at Davos, and also appeared alongside former US president Bill Clinton on the panel of the non-profit organisation, the Clinton Global Initiative.
We caught up with the mother of two to find out how she juggles her time between family, her philanthropic causes and her career as a model.
How have your experiences and connections as a model helped with your philanthropic efforts?
I have been able to raise awareness for the global challenges to health and education on the back of my experience and connections made in the modelling world.
I have been lucky that my modelling career gave me a voice that I have been able to use to fight for the things I believe in and it has enabled us to build a free school for 314 girls, a community centre that offers programmes to over 7,000 youth and adults, and 17 wells that protect 30,000 people a year against waterborne disease and illness.