Acheke Mausa ‘20 is a former City High student. He was an athlete, taking part in the soccer team as well as in Track and Field. Acheke was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the second Congo War. His family immigrated to Tanzania and lived there for around seven years in a refugee camp, then as a young 8-year old boy he moved to the United States. He now manages an organization of youth, United Alliance of Development, that is taking action to help against the issues that DRC is facing. 

Q: What motivated you to start this organization? 

A: While in high school, I started to learn more about The education system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and I saw how bad the quality of education from K-12 was. One of the biggest reasons for this was insufficient support, such as the lack of school supplies. As I started to talk to more people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I realized there were more problems. The Democratic Republic of Congo, especially the east coast, suffers a lot from poverty, mainly because of the genocide, war, and conflicts that have happened for the past 25 years. The result of the war and genocide has been a lack of food, water, shelter, education, safety, and overall well-being for the people of DR Congo. The main advantage when we started the organization was to involve the youth because DR Congo has one of the youngest populations in the world. However, many young men and women do not have jobs, even after graduating from university, and these youth are expected to lead soon without any experience in their fields. To bring stability and fruition to DR Congo and Africa as a whole, the youth must be given opportunities to find ways to solve the problems that they have been facing since they were born. Providing K-12 with school supplies and supporting agriculture are just two of the impactful projects the United Alliance for Development is doing to allow children, youth, and elders to fight against poverty, increase food security, and improve the well-being of the people. We are hoping to accomplish more as we progress. 

Q: What’s been your favorite moment of forming/working for the organization?

A: My favorite moment is whenever we see the impact we make afterward. When I saw how happy and grateful families were after receiving food, it was remarkable. Knowing that the projects we do, don’t only affect the present but the future of the country is remarkable.

Q: What’s been your biggest struggle while forming/working for the organization?

A: My biggest struggle when forming the organization was choosing who would be on the organization’s board, and that’s when I found out character is more important than skill. A person can learn a skill, but character isn’t learned as easily; it takes years. 

Q: What types of goals are you hoping to achieve in the future?

A: I am hoping to inspire and influence people to serve others for many generations to come. 

Q: Who’s your biggest inspiration?

A: Jesus Christ, the way he lived all his life and demonstrated what serving others is, inspired me to want to help others as much as I could. 

Q: What was the moment that made you realize that this is something you wanted to do?

A: When I was in high school, I started to write a book about all the problems that The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing, and in the book, I stated what I thought the solutions were. As I was writing, I realized I had to start taking action now. 

Q: Can you share more about your book? 

A: My book is about the problems that the Democratic Republic of Congo and Africa faces. It provides solutions and strategies to build up the African continent. I have not published the book yet. 

Q: How did your experiences at City High lead you to this? 

A: The school’s positive atmosphere and how much leadership was presented to me by the teachers, coaches, and students encouraged me to view leading as an essential role in any institution or field. A personal story of mine is when I made varsity soccer my sophomore year; I was previously a bench warmer on a fresh soph team. The transition and experience from bench warmer to varsity in a year made me realize how strong the power of believing in yourself and others is. Starting the organization, I knew for it to work, I had to believe in myself and also believe in my fellow members. 

Q: If you could share one piece of advice with your younger self, what would it be?

A: Always Believe and be Courageous. 

Q: What message do you want to pass on to all students at City High?

A: High school is extremely short. Get involved, Learn, and be grateful.