Merck Foundation in partnership with Botswana First Lady and Ministry of Education launch their “Educating Linda” Program to support Girl Education

GABORONE  — Merck Foundation  declared Botswana First Lady as Ambassador of “More than a Mother” to build healthcare capacity, break infertility stigma, stop GBV and support girl education; Merck Foundation Chairperson & CEO met Botswana President and The First Lady to acknowledge their Alumni and Award winners; Merck Foundation marking strong milestone of Transforming Patient Care Landscape and Supporting Girl Education in partnership with Botswana First Lady.

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany officially launched their programs in Botswana in partnership with H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana, who is also the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, in esteemed presence of The President of the Republic of Botswana, H.E. Dr. MOKGWEETSI ERIC KEABETSWE MASISI and Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp. During the launch program, Merck Foundation’s Educating Linda program was also launched to support girl education in Botswana.

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of “More Than a Mother” Campaign expressed, “I am very happy for successful official launch of our programs with my dear sister, H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana and Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, the programs that we started in 2018.

It makes me proud to share that together with The First Lady of Botswana and their Ministry of Education, we are contributing to the future of brilliant but underprivileged young girls in Botswana, as a part of our ‘Educating Linda’ program. We are supporting the education of 40 deserving schoolgirls. 20 girls have been supported through the scholarship till they graduate, and 20 bicycles have been provided to the girls to encourage them to continue going to school, as they sometimes dropout due to long distance commute.”

During the visit, Merck Foundation CEO also discussed in detail about their Educating Linda programs and emphasized the importance of girl education in Botswana and the rest of Africa, during her high-level meeting with Hon’ble Nnaniki W.T. Makwinja, Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development of Botswana.

Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO along with The First Lady of Botswana also visited schools in the country to encourage young girls in education.

“I firmly believe that educating girls empowers their countries, making them more powerful, stronger, and prosperous. Unfortunately, many bright girls drop out of school due to the lack of basic necessities such as fees, uniforms, or transportation”, added Senator Kelej.

Merck Foundation’s “Educating Linda” is a pan-African program that is tailored for each country to contribute to the future of young African girls who are brilliant but underprivileged. The spirit of the project is to provide an opportunity to such girls to pursue their dreams and reach their potential through access to education.

Till today, Merck Foundation has supported girl education through their “Educating Linda” program by providing 625 scholarships and thousands of school items to schoolgirls in many African countries including Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and more. Merck Foundation has also benefitted 1000’s of girls through their awareness campaign which includes releasing many inspiring children’s storybooks, animation films and songs to support girl education.

“Girl Education today for Women Empowerment tomorrow”, emphasized Senator Rasha.

Merck Foundation has also provided 20 Sewing Machines to the women groups who suffer GBV (Gender Based Violence) across Botswana to be able to generate monthly income through the home micro project to generate income. This helps to improve their livelihoods, and for their family and community at large, who suffer discrimination or domestic violence due to the social stigma, with the aim to become independent as productive members in society.

Merck Foundation has also transformed the patientcare landscape of Botswana by providing 46 scholarships of One-Year Online PG Diploma and Two-Year Master Degree for local doctors in many underserved and critical medical specialties in Botswana such as Diabetes, Endocrinology, Embryology, Fertility, Sexual and Reproductive care, Oncology, Acute Medicine, Dermatology, Obesity and Weight Management, Respiratory Care and Internal Medicine. This is a huge milestone and revolution in patient care across Botswana.

During the program launch, Merck Foundation Chairman, and Merck Foundation CEO together with The First Lady of Botswana also met and acknowledged the Merck Foundation Alumni and the Winners of the Merck Foundation Awards from Botswana.

Together with Botswana First Lady, Merck Foundation also conducted their “Health Meda Training” to emphasize on the important role that media plays to influence society to create a cultural shift with the aim to address wide range of social and health issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, and many more. During the training program, the Call for Application for 8 important Merck Foundation Awards in partnership with The First Lady of Botswana were announced for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields.

Moreover, 3 episodes out of the 15 episodes of Merck Foundation “Our Africa” TV program, which is conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, highlight the importance of supporting girl education. The TV program has been broadcasted on BTV in Botswana and other National TV Stations of many other African countries like Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Burundi and more.