The Georges Malaika Foundation is a 501(3)(c)
organization, whose volunteer based staff, works
tirelessly to educate young Congolese girls, who
have been deprived of education.
GMF currently sponsors 16 girls in the D.R.
Congo's province of Katanga. These girls, all of
which have been cast from their homes as a
result of sorcery accusations or a mere
inability to be supported by their families, are
provided with full tuition costs, meals,
uniforms, and school supplies.
The foundation celebrated the laying of the
first stone for The Georges Malaika Foundation
School, which was placed by Khaliah Ali
(daughter of Muhammad Ali, who fought the famed
"Rumble in the Jungle" in Congo 35 years ago).
The school, designed by studioMDA is set to open
at the end of 2010/2011.
Most recently, GMF partnered with the students
of Columbia University's Graduate School of
Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, which
was led by Professor Markus Dochantschi and
studioMDA. Georges Malaika hosted the students
in Congo, where they were welcomed with open
arms. The students created architectural
educational models based on their experience of
Congolese culture and information sessions with
local Congolese government figures, NGOs,
diplomats, teachers, the mining business
community, architects, villages,museums...
Though based out of New York City, Georges
Malaika Foundation's growing presence is alive
in countries across the globe and has earned
respect and an influential voice with The United
Nations and various Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs).
GMF founder and CEO, Noella Coursaris,
Congolese/Cypriot international model and
humanitarian will be joined by GMF's Director,
Congolese Alain Pakabomba, at James Cohan
Gallery to share their gratitude and goals with
GMF supporters.
For more information on Georges Malaika
Foundation please visit
www.gmfafrica.org
Matthew Bishop
Matthew Bishop is the US Business Editor and New
York Bureau Chief of The Economist. Mr. Bishop
was previously the magazine's London-based
Business Editor. His new book, The Road from
Ruin: How to Renew Capitalism and Put America
Back on Top, with Michael Green, will be
published by Crown in February 2010.
Philanthrocapitalism, his previous book (also
with Green) on the global revolution under way
in philanthropy, has been described as
"terrific" by The New York Times columnist
Nicholas Kristof, and as the "definitive guide
to a new generation of philanthropists who
understand innovation and risk-taking, and who
will play a crucial part in solving the biggest
problems facing the world" by New York's Mayor
and leading philanthropist Michael Bloomberg.
According to former U.S President Bill Clinton,
"This is an important book. Our interdependent
world is too unequal, unstable, and, because of
climate change, unsustainable. We have to
transform it into one of shared
responsibilities, shared opportunities, and a
shared sense of community. Bishop and Green show
us how to do it." Mr. Bishop is also the author
of Essential Economics, the official Economist
layperson's guide to economics.
Mr. Bishop is the author of several of The
Economist's special report supplements,
including most recently A Bigger World, which
examines the opportunities and challenges of the
rise of emerging economies and firms; The
Business of Giving, which looks at the
industrial revolution taking place in
philanthropy; Kings of Capitalism, which
anticipated and analyzed the recent boom in
private equity; and Capitalism and its Troubles,
an examination of the impact of problems such as
the collapse of Enron. In 1994, he wrote an
acclaimed special report on corporate
governance, Watching the Boss.
Before joining The Economist, Mr. Bishop was on
the faculty of London Business School, where he
co-authored three books for the Oxford
University Press on subjects ranging from
privatization and regulation to corporate
mergers. Prior to that, Mr. Bishop was educated
at Oxford University. He has served as a member
of the Sykes Commission on the investment system
in the 21st century. Mr. Bishop was also on the
Advisors Group of the United Nations
International Year of Microcredit 2005. Mr.
Bishop has been honored as a Young Global Leader
by the World Economic Forum. He has been
interviewed on numerous media outlets, including
NPR, BBC, CNBC, and the Charlie Rose show.
studioMDA
studioMDA is honored to be a part of the Georges
Malaika Foundation’s effort to build a school
near Lubumbashi. Markus Dochantshi and Chad
Kellogg of studioMDA also worked closely with
GMF when they brought a group of Graduate
Students of Architecture at Columbia University
to the Congo in October of last year. The goal
of the trip and the semester long design studio
was to address a series of questions about the
prospect of building new schools in Sub-Saharan
Africa, including: What can architectural
knowledge contribute to a country and society
that is in the process of rebuilding and
remaking itself? What educational institutions,
spaces and building typologies facilitate the
process of renewal? How should architects
position their expertise and their work in the
current global development debate?
To address these questions, the studio had to
rethink the list and configuration of programs
normally associated with educational
institutions. They studied the local context and
the region as a whole in order to make decisions
about the scale, distribution and orientation of
a model educational institution. The studio
endeavored to address the concerns of its
non-profit advisors and challenge their existing
preconceptions. Finally, the students have
advance bold and potentially Utopian designs and
brought a pragmatic approach to their final
presentation.
StudioMDA is currently working on the design of
two schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition
to the Georges Malaika Foundation School in
Lubumbashi, StudioMDA is designing the Raising
Malawi Academy for Girls in Lilongwe, Malawi in
collaboration with Madonna. The RMAG program
includes a Library and Administration building,
Dining Hall, Gymnasium, Wellness Center, Sports
Field, 30 Classrooms, 12 Dormitories and 18
Staff Houses on a 46 hectare site.
The design of both schools utilizes cutting edge
environmental analysis with appropriate
technologies to achieve a range of
sustainability goals such as passive
ventilation, and natural light. Most
construction materials are sourced locally, such
as Hydraform bricks, made from soil on site,
avoiding the use of burned bricks which have
been largely responsible for wide spread
deforestation in Africa.
Double roofs catch the breeze and induce natural
ventilation. Large over hangs on the roofs
create ample outdoor shaded space and prevent
direct light from striking the glazing and
heating up the interior of the building.
Computer light level simulations have defined
the geometry of the classroom roofs and
clerestory windows, creating optimal light
levels and diffusion for learning.
Photovoltaic panels contribute to the school’s
energy independents. Constructed wetlands will
clean the black and grey water generated by the
school, allowing it to be used for landscape
irrigation and educational agricultural. A
rainwater catchment system will collect water
for small student gardens and other learning
landscapes. The “learning landscapes,” and
educational agriculture areas will educate the
students on a range of ecosystems in their
region and help them develop the future of
sustainable agriculture in Africa.
Markus Dochantschi founded studioMDA in New York
2002. studioMDA’s approach is to creatively
engage all parties at the very beginning,
forming an inspirational collaboration in
defining architecture. Calling a wide range of
consultants beyond the architect’s typical
collaborative, studioMDA has teamed with
artists, video artists, and choreographers,
among others to define space generated by
various artistic endeavors. Within this context,
architectural syntax can become layered into
micro and macro scales, balancing the smallest
detail with the topographical/ urban fabric.
Markus Dochantschi was trained in Germany, where
he graduated in 1995. Before founding studioMDA
in New York in 2002, he worked with Arata
Isozaki and Fumihiko Maki in Tokyo, and from
1995 to 2002 with Zaha Hadid in London. He
taught the Advanced Studio at Yale University
with Zaha Hadid, Stefan Behnisch and Gerald
Hines, and taught the Advanced Studio in 2008
and 2009 at Columbia University, GSAPP. He was a
Guest Lecturer at the GSD, at Harvard
University. He has been guest critic at the AA
London; Columbia University, NY; The Cooper
Union, NY; University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia; Princeton University, Princeton;
the ETH Zurich, Switzerland; the Hochschule für
Angewandte Kunst Vienna, Austria
Columbia University Graduate School of
Architecture, Planning,
and Design
Students of Columbia University’s Graduate
School of Architecture, Planning, and Design,
overseen by Studio MDA, were given a task of
designing culturally relevant and aesthetically
coherent school systems for D.R. Congo that
would creatively address some of Congo’s
persistent problems. After ten days of
consultations with the education ministry,
agriculture ministry, local and international
NGOs, diplomats, teachers, museum personnel,
architects and the mining business community,
the delegation of twelve students presented
their months of work on proposed educational
models to Moise Katumbi, governor of Katanga
province, met with strong praise: "In all my
days as governor this is the best presentation I
have ever seen."
Upon their return to The U.S, designs were
presented and critiqued in an arduous set of
review panel discussions. Marc Leverant and
Robert Passov were awarded first place for their
educational design model for orphans in a
competition sponsored by The Socio Design
Foundation.
Khaliah Ali
Khaliah Ali has successfully carved out a
diverse and well-defined path of her own, but
like her father, Muhammad Ali, is committed to
helping people around the world.
Among her numerous philanthropic activities are
serving as board member of Big Brothers/Big
Sisters International; on-air spokesperson for
Youth at Risk, Inc.; Advisory Board Member and
spokesperson for Help, USA; chairwoman for the
Friends of The Statue of Liberty Foundation;
director of development for the Urban Retrievers
Program; youth entertainment consultant to the
ElizabethPediatric Aids Foundation; and senior
staff member with the Job Core Program, Inc.
She recently traveled to the Congo with model
Noella Coursaris Musunka to celebrate the 35th
anniversary of her father's fight there versus
George Foreman. She also visited the site of
Georges Malaika School's for girls and
participated in a ceremony with Governor Moise
Katumbi of Katanga to lay the school's first
stone. Khaliah's visit was chronicled by
numerous outlets globally including CNN and
Agence
France Presse
A former FORD Model, Khaliah is committed to
helping young women develop and nurture positive
self-image and self-esteem. She shared her
lifelong struggle and triumph in controlling and
maintaining a healthy body weight in her
enormously successful book, Fighting Weight
(HarperCollins). An in-demand motivational
speaker on weight issues, Khaliah has shared
this message coast-to-coast as a spokesperson
for Allergen Pharmaceutical’s Moment of Truth
Campaign, which strives to identify solutions to
the continuing national obesity problem.
With a fine eye for detail, design and
presentation, Khaliah is also the creator of
Diversity by Khaliah Ali, a plus size fashion
collection created for the Home Shopping
Network. The launch proved so successful that
she has expanded her collection and now designs
an additional line for Simplicity sewing
patterns.
Khaliah has also worked on a number of
television programs whose subjects range from
sports, fashion, childrens’ rights, to young
adult issues. She has reported for ESPN’s Cold
Pizza and was host of the weekly BET teen
roundtable program Teen Summit. Khaliah received
an Emmy Award nomination for hosting Education
is Paramount, a Philadelphia based public
affairs weekly broadcast.
For more information please contact
Anthea Gray at
Anthea.Gray@gmalaikaf.org