Rockville, MD - August 18, 2014 - 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. She is 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,” ASHA President Elizabeth McCrea, PhD, CCC-SLP, said. “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.
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 173,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language, and hearing scientists, audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel, and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems, including swallowing disorders. www.asha.org/.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by IREX, an international NGO with more than 45 years’ experience delivering exceptional education and training programs. To learn more about the Washington Fellowship, please visit youngafricanleaders.state.gov/washington-fellowship.
Source: https://www.asha.org/About/news/Press-Releases/2014/ASHA-Hosting-Audiologist-From-Botswana.htm
