A K-State student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo uses his multiple degrees to help orphans achieve their dreams.
Growing up as an orphan in the Congo, Jonathan Maka witnessed first-hand how limited educational opportunities can erase potential and crush dreams.
“My dream is to build nonprofit schools for orphans and children from low-income families,” Maka said. “As an orphan myself, I know what it means to not have the same opportunities as others.”
In the Congo, schools were often underfunded and overcrowded. Maka watched many talented students drop out because their families couldn’t afford fees or supplies.
From the beginning, Maka’s faith, resilience and determination shaped his passion for giving children the chance to learn.
His path toward that goal began with his application to the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a program that brings emerging African leaders to universities across the United States. He was accepted and placed at K-State to study civil engineering.
The next step
Maka returned home and immediately put his leadership into practice by offering free English lessons to his community.
“It was challenging,” he said. “But when I saw someone learn to introduce themselves or hold a conversation in English, I knew it mattered.”
Inspired by that success, Maka began making bigger plans for a nonprofit school dedicated to children without access to education.
“Through this school, I want to offer free, quality education to children who may not have the same opportunities I had,” Maka said. “But, more than that, I want to raise a new generation of young Congolese thinkers.”
Opened doors
To do that, Maka knew he needed more education, so he applied to K-State for another degree.
“I told God, ‘If it’s your will for me to continue my education, show me the way,’” he said. “When I go the acceptance letter, I just cried.”
At K-State he studied agricultural sales and minored in marketing — an intentional choice that supports his vision.
“In sales, you learn to build trust, to understand what people need and how to communicate it,” he said. “Those are the same skills I need to grow my nonprofit. I’m learning how to connect with people, share my mission and gain support to make it sustainable.”
Maka’s education in agriculture will also help him to integrate food production and community farming into his curriculum.
“In the Congo, agriculture is life,” he said. “If students learn to farm, they can feed themselves, their families, and their communities. Education and agriculture go hand-in-hand.”
As Maka continues his studies at K-State, he keeps his long-term goal firmly in sight: to build the first of many nonprofit schools. He knows the path ahead will not be easy.
“I want to use what I’ve learned at K-State, not just in the classroom, but from the people, the culture and the faith to make a difference back home,” he said. “My hope is that one day a child in my country will say, ‘Because of Jonathan’s school, I learned to read, I learned to dream.’ That’s what keeps me going.”
By Kate Ellwood