News: The President of the Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI Foundation brings together students from Haut Katanga to promote academic excellence and awareness of sickle cell disease.
The Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI Foundation organized a lunch at the Pullman Hotel Lubumbashi to bring together around 180 students from 20 schools in Haut Katanga and present the EXCELLENTIA program to them. The aim of this event was to raise awareness among students of the importance of academic excellence and to inform them about sickle cell anemia, the world’s leading genetic disease.
The President of the Foundation, Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI, encouraged the students by telling them that the country cannot develop without them and encouraging them to obtain at least 85% to be eligible for the EXCELLENTIA program scholarship. She stressed that this scholarship would offer them the opportunity to continue their university studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo or abroad.
During the event, a doctor led an educational session on sickle cell disease to raise students’ awareness of the harms of this disease and the importance of getting screened. President Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI reminded the students that they are the major players in the prevention and fight against sickle cell anemia, and announced that screening kits will soon be made available to them in certain hospitals in Lubumbashi.
To illustrate the success of the EXCELLENTIA program, some former scholarship recipients also participated in the event, serving as inspiring examples for future recipients. The EXCELLENTIA program, which began four years ago, aims to reward academic excellence by awarding scholarships to state exam winners with a score of at least 85%. It plans to award 1,000 local scholarships and 100 international scholarships over a 10-year period.
Currently, the EXCELLENTIA program has 241 scholarship holders, 82 of whom are pursuing their university studies in Morocco, France and the United States, and 159 local scholarship holders. The Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI Foundation thus continues to invest in the education and health of young Congolese, encouraging them to achieve excellence and raising awareness of public health issues such as sickle cell disease.