Mastercard sponsors education in CMR

On September 5, the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé welcomed two Cameroonian youth selected to study abroad beginning this month under the sponsorship of The MasterCard Foundation.

Kidi Meroun Basile is the recipient of a four-year scholarship to study engineering at Stanford University in California’s Silicon Valley; and Niba Ernest Che received a six-year scholarship to study medicine at the Nkwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. They were welcomed by Public Affairs Officer Roberto Quiroz II and embassy staff, who lauded their academic achievements.

The students expressed their appreciation to the Embassy and the MasterCard Foundation for helping to make their academic goals a reality.

They also thanked the U.S. Embassy staff, including former Education USA Advisor Angie Sanchez-Wilson, who helped them through the application process, for their support and their parents for instilling in them a great appreciation for the value of education.

Mr. Quiroz underscored the United States’ commitment to promote development through education by noting: “As Ambassador Michael S. Hoza has said, one of the United States’ highest priorities in Cameroon is partnering with young leaders like you to promote education.

Attaining a quality education is essential for reaching individual goals and for promoting development in all nations through the contributions of citizens.

Education is earned through perseverance, hard work, and dedication. We congratulate you on your academic success and selection for the MasterCard Foundation’s Scholars Program, and look forward to the great contributions you will offer to promote development in Cameroon through your chosen professions. We encourage you to maximize all opportunities as you pursue your studies and represent Cameroon in the United States and Ghana.”

The MasterCard Foundation has stated that its’ Scholars Program is committed to “Creating Change in Africa, One Student at a Time.”

“Africa has a wealth of bright, creative young people for which it is investing in young leaders to bring about change on the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an economic and political resurgence.

African ingenuity and innovation - especially in science, technology and engineering - has positioned many countries on the continent as some of the fastest growing in the world. And with over half of its population under the age of 25, Africa is positioned to become the largest labor force in the world by 2035.

To maintain the continent’s dynamism and achieve economic and political gains, young Africans need to acquire the skills that will allow them to succeed in the global economy,” according to the MasterCard Foundation’s website: http://mastercardfdnscholars.org/.