News: The Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI Foundation rewards academic excellence and raises awareness of sickle cell disease
The President of the Foundation Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI recently organized a lunch at the Pullman Hotel Lubumbashi to bring together around one hundred and eighty students from 20 schools in Haut Katanga. The objective of this event was to inform them about the EXCELLENTIA program, which aims to promote academic excellence among young people, as well as about sickle cell anemia, the first genetic disease in the world.
During this meeting, the First Lady encouraged students to aim for academic excellence and to obtain at least 85% results to be eligible for a scholarship. She underlined the importance of education for the development of the country, and expressed her confidence in the younger generations.
An information session on sickle cell anemia was also planned, led by Doctor Kadhy NSINGI. The President of the Foundation made students aware of the harm caused by this disease and encouraged them to get tested. She stressed that sickle cell disease represents a real scourge for families, lives and society as a whole, and called on young people to play a major role in preventing and fighting this disease.
As part of the EXCELLENTIA program, scholarship recipients from the first edition were present to share their experience and serve as concrete examples for future laureates. This program, which takes place over 10 years, aims to reward academic excellence by granting scholarships to winners of the state exam who have obtained at least 85% results. The goal is to award 1000 local and 100 international scholarships.
To date, the EXCELLENTIA program is in its 4th edition and has 241 scholarship holders, 82 of whom are continuing their university studies in Morocco, France and the United States, as well as 159 local scholarship holders.
The Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI Foundation continues to support education and the fight against sickle cell disease in the DRC. These actions contribute to training the country’s future elite and improving the health of the population, essential issues for sustainable and promising development.