Round Trip

How one Harambee alumna brought free education, health care, and economic development to the Congo.

When Elonga Bashombana arrived in Columbus, Ohio from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she was young, far from home, and navigating a world that didn't yet feel like hers. A new language. A new culture. A new everything. And yet, even as she found her footing, she carried something with her that never quite let her go — the faces of the women and children from home living in the shadow of war, poverty, and a world that too often overlooked them. She came seeking opportunity. She was also, without fully knowing it yet, being called back.

Her first chapter in Columbus began at Harambee. She arrived with her family, not yet speaking English, and Harambee was ready for her — providing a translator, tutoring, and a faith community that would shape everything that followed. "At Harambee, I felt welcomed, loved, seen, encouraged, guided and supported," she recalls. What she found there wasn't just academic preparation. It was the beginning of an identity rooted in faith and purpose. "My journey of faith began with Harambee," she says. It is a journey she has never stopped walking.

From Harambee, Elonga went on to Cristo Rey, and then to Xavier University, where she received a full scholarship. She doesn't chalk that up to coincidence. "There is no coincidence that I received a full ride to Xavier," she says. "That gave me the time and opportunity to build my nonprofit, Congo Connect." Each step of her path—every open door, every provision—was equipping her for the work she was born to do. A work that fulfills the Harambee Declaration to "accomplish great things that will make a difference forever."

Congo Connect exists to address the root causes that keep communities from thriving. The organization has built a school offering free tuition to children who are victims of war, orphans, and students from under-resourced families. For women, Congo Connect operates a clinic serving survivors of sexual violence, providing reproductive health education alongside compassionate medical care. It also offers financial literacy classes and small business support — equipping women with the tools to build stable, independent lives. Each piece of the work is designed to connect to the next, moving families and communities from crisis toward self-sufficiency. "A big part of the work is helping women become stable," Elonga explains. "The goal is to support communities in a way that's sustainable and actually helps them grow long term."

Uplifting students in need through a tuition-free education

This is what transformation looks like when it is built from the inside out — not charity handed down, but dignity restored and futures rebuilt.

That long-term vision shapes everything Elonga is building. She wants to enroll more students, create more jobs, and build more schools — ultimately making Congo Connect self-sufficient so that its impact outlasts any one person or funding cycle. It is the kind of thinking that doesn't come from ambition alone. It comes from having lived the reality.

When asked what drives all of it, her answer is immediate: faith. "Faith is the foundation of my work," she says. "This is what the Lord has called me to do — serve others." Elonga describes her faith not as something she performs but as something she lives — a daily source of grounding and clarity that leads her to "choose service and integrity over recognition and convenience." Every step of her journey, from a classroom in Columbus to a clinic in the Congo, has been held together by that thread.

Elonga's Harambee Era | Xavier Era

Today, Elonga is studying chemistry on her path toward becoming a Physician Assistant, moving steadily toward her goal of improving healthcare access for women in underserved communities — especially in the Congo. "I believe everyone deserves quality care," she says, "and I hope to be part of the change that makes that possible." The girl who once left the Congo with her family, her faith, and a future she couldn't yet see is becoming the guide her community has been waiting for.

If she could say one thing to the students sitting in Harambee's classrooms today — to the young people who may be wrestling with their own sense of purpose — it would be this: "Your story has purpose. Don't wait for anyone to validate your purpose — instead seek the Lord for guidance. Dream big and serve humbly. The success that uplifts others is better than the one that only uplifts you."

Elonga is living proof of what becomes possible when purpose meets perseverance. Her story is still being written — and the best chapters may be yet to come. Harambee is honored to have been just one stop along the way — one small part of a journey that was always going somewhere extraordinary.

And for those who want to be part of what she is building? The door is open.

To learn more about Elonga's work or to support Congo Connect, visit congoconnect.org.