The article I am going to write concerns the recent meeting organized by the President of the Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi Foundation, which brought together nearly 180 students from different schools in the Haut Katanga province. The objective of this meeting was to present the EXCELLENTIA program, which aims to promote academic excellence among young people, while addressing the issue of sickle cell anemia, the first genetic disease in the world.
During this event, the First Lady highlighted the importance of young people in the development of the country and encouraged them to pursue academic excellence. She also explained that the EXCELLENTIA program offers scholarships to state exam winners with at least 85% success. These scholarships allow students to continue their university studies, whether in local establishments or abroad.
At the same time, the President of the Foundation raised awareness among the students about sickle cell anemia, an illness that affects many families. She insisted on the importance of screening and announced that screening kits will soon be made available to students in certain hospitals in Lubumbashi.
As part of this event, former beneficiaries of the EXCELLENTIA program were invited to share their experience. This highlighting of past successes aims to inspire future winners.
The EXCELLENTIA program, which is in its fourth edition, has already awarded 241 scholarships, of which 82 have enabled students to continue their studies abroad, mainly in Morocco, France and the United States, and 159 scholarships have been awarded to local students.
In short, this event made it possible to raise awareness among young students in the Haut Katanga province on the importance of academic excellence and the prevention of sickle cell disease. The EXCELLENTIA program offers great higher education opportunities for talented young people, thus contributing to the construction of an educational elite for the future of the country.