Elvis Nshimba is the Founder and CEO of Umoja Sport Foundation, whose mission is to create a safe and thriving community for all people through sport, education, and economic empowerment.
Elvis has a bachelor’s in English and African Culture from the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Lubumbashi University. After graduating in 2007, Elvis worked as a teacher and English translator in several industries. In 2012, he joined Malaika, an organization that empowers girls and communities through education, sport, and health programs. After six years as a teacher within the Malaika School, Elvis was promoted to supervisor of the Malaika Community Center. There, Elvis was able to hone his management skills while impacting the Kalebuka community. Under Elvis’ leadership eleven community wells were built and eleven community and job skill programs were instituted: sewing, hand embroidery, entrepreneurship, family planning, English, information technology, catering, housekeeping, entrepreneurship, and electrical and mechanical engineering. Elvis was key in establishing and sustaining Malaika’s partnership with Coaches Across Continents (CAC), a sport-for-development nonprofit that uses play to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Elvis even became an accredited coach through CAC and ran many on-field sessions that used sport to address issues, such as gender inequality, climate action, and health and wellbeing.
Elvis’ strong desire to develop his community was informed by his childhood. Elvis survived infancy despite harrowing circumstances. After five days of hard labor and complications, doctors had to employ metal clamps to pull him from his mother’s womb. Just days later, Elvis developed an abscess on his chest to which he recovered from without any medical care. Personal and familial health problems later in life combined with economic conditions threatened his studies, yet Elvis remained steadfast in his commitment to education because he knew it was foundational to creating a better future for himself and those around him.
Through the delivery of sport-for-development sessions, Elvis has impacted hundreds of teachers, coaches, and community leaders across Africa. He has seen sport transform lives in Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. In his recent article, Elvis discusses how sport can rehabilitate displaced people and empower communities.
Amazing !