Lyra was established by Maria Spink in 2012 to help end poverty in Africa through education.
Specifically, Lyra focuses on ultra-poor, rural communities in Tanzania where only three percent of rural girls finish secondary education. Amongst other initiatives, Lyra builds low-carbon hostels to house the girls during their education and avoid daily walks of up to 30 kilometers.
To date 9,000 girls have completed their education with no reported pregnancies.
Hostel
Girls running around
The David Suddens Foundation
The mission of the David Suddens Foundation is to provide financial support for the Public Benefit in the following areas:
We are committed to ending the rape of women, denial of education and all forms of discrimination.
We finance Early Childhood Development to teach children aged 3-6 years old the meanings of their emotions and values of mutual respect and empathy.
We support the development of business leaders who study and work with different cultures, champion mutual understanding and use their influence to be a force for good.
We advocate for African endeavours to benefit Africa, including the use of the continent’s natural resources for its own benefit.
A personal story from David Suddens
My work over the last 10 years took me often to West and Central Africa where, in selling what are called African prints, I met many strong, entrepreneurial women, successful even when the odds were stacked against them.
None more so than in Bukavu, the Eastern Congo, and in the City of Joy, a peaceful place of recovery for women who have been raped as weapons of war. They are victims of unspeakable atrocities. But their resilience and their determination to go back to their communities not as victims but as leaders led a female colleague to ask, “are these the world’s strongest women”?
It is distressing that the Foundation’s origins began in Bukavu with conversations about rape; rape as a deliberate act of war, in daily life, as a constant of history. Whether it was in discussion with Christine Schuler Deschryver or Dr Denis Mukwege (founders of the City of Joy) or, later, Leslee Udwin (Think Equal), the deeply held view emerged that only through education can behaviour be changed. Leslee Udwin was convinced that it was not just about education per se but the type of education, specifically in the formative years. Dr Mukwege, too, believed boys had to be educated early and differently. He saw that young boys were growing up with sexual violence as the norm.
To visit the City of Joy in Bukavu is at once upsetting and uplifting. As well as the courage of the women and the love they find in sisterhood, it is clear that their entrepreneurial determination is formidable.
In a world apart, on the international campuses of leading business school, INSEAD, from where I graduated and where I teach on occasion, a different type of educational experience takes place. In Bukavu all education is undertaken in groups as the best therapy. In INSEAD group learning is also key, with students at this time of 75 nationalities learning together how cross-cultural teamwork, common language and concepts can make global business a force for good.
As the world seems to fracture INSEAD brings the leaders of the future together in a common purpose.
Having left full-time work, I decided that I wanted to do something for women, for Africa and for education, as the basis for better societies and better outcomes for whole nations.
I also wanted to do something about rape.
From this the Foundation was conceived and was incorporated in 2024.
The Board itself actively searches for projects and organisations that work towards the Foundation’s goals. The David Suddens Foundation will be committed to the selected beneficiaries, subject to the following conditions:
Funding relationships
The David Suddens Foundation preferably commits to an organisation for a long-term period. The partnership and results are evaluated annually.
We asked Jeancy Nsumbu, Congolese artist, to draw for us his interpretation of the Foundation’s objectives:
Support for Women, Education and Africa
We are proud to feature the result here and have taken his blue colour as a theme.
The Congo has a special place in our hearts. Since the end of the 19th century no country has been more cruelly exploited; first by Europeans and then by its own leaders. There is still daily rape of Congolese women and the use of child labour in its mines. The world looks the other way as foreign militia continue to wage war to control its mineral wealth. As so often, amongst all of the suffering, it is the women and children who are trapped in the violence.
The Foundation supports the David Suddens Scholarship for African students to study for an MBA at INSEAD.
The Foundation also contributes to the renovation of the Fontainebleau campus so that the world’s best students, residing in 172 countries, not only can be taught by the world’s finest professors but can do so in the most up-to-date, technologically enabled and sustainable environment.
Students
Amphitheatre
The current Fontainebleau campus
David Suddens with scholarship students
Graduation
Team success
Transformation
Rebuilding
Image of the new campus design
Group work
Virtual reality learning
This educational programme for 3–6-year-olds was created by film-producer, Leslee Udwin, having interviewed and filmed the rapists of Jyoti Singh in Delhi in 2012. Her film, India’s Daughter, was the beginning of a campaign to stop the rape of women by teaching young boys and girls that they should respect each other and behave with equal empathy whatever their race, caste, gender, skin colour or abilities.
Classroom
The Gambia project – Introduction
Tom Ilube, British-Nigerian entrepreneur, decided to create a school in Ghana to teach Africa’s brightest girls STEM subjects that, he felt, were neglected for girls in Africa. 50 students study maths and physics – in 11 months rather than the customary 2 years – for Cambridge University A-level exams. These young women then continue to further education in African Universities.
Study
Tech hub
Classroom
Tom Ilube with the graduates
Head Mistress Gifty Ghansah hands out diplomas
The City of Joy was created in Bukavu, DRC in 2011 by Christine Schuler Deschryver, Eve Ensler (now known as V) and Dr Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize Winner 2018). It was clear to these founders that raped women, used as weapons of war all over the DRC, in addition to their physical trauma treatments also needed psychological help to recover from their ordeals. In the City of Joy survivors receive therapy, an emotional healing program, education and leadership training to help them return to their communities as leaders, not as victims.
As you enter the gates of the City of Joy you read a banner that proclaims, “One billion women raped on the planet is an atrocity” and in the office lobby, “10 ways to change suffering into power”.
14 years later violent rape has increased as armed forces seek to control the mineral wealth of the region. The world looks the other way.
Inside the City of Joy
Entrance of the City of Joy
“10 ways to change suffering into power”
Garden of the City of Joy
Maman Bachu
“Never cry for losing the sun, the tears will prevent you from seeing the stars”
Princess Mabel van Oranje has long been an activist to end childhood marriage. She has understood that poverty and lack of education for girls forces them into early marriage and pregnancy. This affects 12 million girls a year, many in Africa and, in particular, Niger. The impact on missed education, unfulfilled potential and economic growth is immense.
Her charity, VOW, raises awareness of childhood marriage and encourages wedding celebrations to make one wedding gift a contribution to her charity.
Woman walking outside training and support centre
Circle of Influence
Woman
Woman
Lyra was established by Maria Spink in 2012 to help end poverty in Africa through education.
Specifically, Lyra focuses on ultra-poor, rural communities in Tanzania where only three percent of rural girls finish secondary education. Amongst other initiatives, Lyra builds low-carbon hostels to house the girls during their education and avoid daily walks of up to 30 kilometers.
To date 9,000 girls have completed their education with no reported pregnancies.
Hostel
Girls running around
That’s exactly why we do what we do! Can you share more about your business idea?
Sure! I’m working on a platform that connects small businesses with affordable financial advisory services. Many entrepreneurs lack access to guidance on budgeting, investments, and growth strategies, and I want to bridge that gap through accessible online consultations and resources.
That sounds like a fantastic initiative! What message would you like to share with other students who might be in the same position you were in before receiving the grant?
I would say, never stop believing in yourself. There are organizations out there that want to support you—seek them out, apply, and don’t be afraid to share your story. Opportunities like this grant can truly change your future, just as it did for me.
Sarah, thank you for sharing your story. Your dedication and vision are truly inspiring, and we are so proud to have played a part in your journey. We wish you all the best in your studies and your future business endeavors!
Thank you so much! I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and hope to give back one day by supporting aspiring entrepreneurs like myself.
And that’s what it’s all about—lifting each other up! Thank you all for tuning in, and remember, education changes lives. Stay inspired, stay motivated, and never stop learning!