Meet the Greek-Congolese Model Empowering Girls in Africa
Noella Coursaris Musunka at the Malaika school in Kalebuka, DRC
Noella Coursaris Musunka was born to a Greek Cypriot father and a Congolese mother in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Her life hasn’t been easy, and her hardships are what has inspired Noella to do all that she can to promote education for girls in her homeland, and to help them reach their fullest potential and escape poverty. The Greek-Congolese woman shared her amazing story recently, when she spoke at the Concordia Summit in New York City.
” width=”1080″>Her father died suddenly when Noella was only 5 years old, leaving her mother to care for her on her own. Since her mother had no education or resources to raise her child, Noella was sent to live with relatives in Europe. Noella didn’t have much communication with her mother while she grew up in Belgium and Switzerland, leaving the young girl to turn her focus to education.
Bringing Girls Back to School
BY
April 6, 2021
This joint post has been produced by speakers following a conversation organized by WISE on the occasion of the International Day of Women, on the consequences of the pandemic on girls’ and women’s education. The following summarizes their contributions and highlights recommendations.
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he returns to schooling are especially high for women. That is, the earnings increment associated with more education is in fact higher for women than for men. One additional year of schooling and women’s wages go up 12% (compared with 10% for men).
However, the schooling gains of girls and women are under threat. Prior to the COVID-19-induced school closures, girls were staying in school longer and learning more than at any other time. The longstanding disadvantage for girls in terms of enrollment had been declining. In some cases, this led to a “reverse gap” where girls outperform boys in both enrollment rates and learning outcomes