From LPCUWC to Oxford: Sarah Balekage Advances Her Advocacy for Women in Africa

Sarah Mugoli Balekage (Class of 2021) shares how her LPCUWC experience served as the transformative foundation for her academic journey, launching a lifetime of impact.

Born in Eastern Congo, Sarah’s early life was shaped by conflict and inequality. A scholarship to LPCUWC made her the first in her family to study abroad, and that is where her life-changing journey began. Immersed in a community of students from over 90 countries, Sarah soon transitioned from a French-speaking background to full English fluency, and more importantly, gained a new global perspective.

“That’s where I realised that education could actually be a force to unite people for peace and a sustainable future,” Sarah remarked.

This experience paved the way for her next steps. After graduating from LPC as a valedictorian with the Shelby Davis Scholarship, she attended St. Olaf College in the United States. Building directly on the ideals she embraced at LPCUWC, she designed her own major in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Advocacy and founded the Binti Voice Initiative, a platform that supports Congolese survivors of gender-based violence.

Now, at the University of Oxford as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, Sarah will research how education reform in Congo affects girls' schooling and child marriage rates, and continue to spread and amplify the UWC mission.

Learn more about Sarah’s journey:

Read her story with the University of Oxford here and her interview with St. Olaf College here.

Photo credit: University of Oxford