Kate Kgwefane, an audiologist from the African country of Botswana, is being hosted by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) as she participates in the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders this month and next.
Kgwefane has worked as an audiologist in Botswana for more than 3 years. She is employed at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana, and is reportedly passionate about the early identification and education of learners with hearing impairment.
“We enthusiastically welcome Kate and are pleased and proud to be hosting her,” says ASHA President Elizabeth McCrea, PhD, CCC-SLP. “Programs like the Mandela Washington Fellowship offer everyone involved wonderful but rare opportunities for mutual learning. We look forward to learning as much from Kate as we hope she does from us and from her time in the United States.”
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the new flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). President Obama launched YALI in 2010 to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.
This summer, the Fellowship brought the first group of participants—500 young African professionals, ages 25-35—to the United States for academic study, leadership training, and a Presidential Summit in Washington. One hundred of these fellows were selected to complete 8-week follow-on internships. The fellows are a very diverse group and represent some of the brightest young leaders in the 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the nearly 50,000 applicants, only 500 were selected to participate this year.
Source: ASHA
