Last week, we celebrated 10 years of the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program - an education & leadership development initiative for economically-disadvantaged youth, primarily from Africa. This morning, I'm reflecting on 10 things about this initiative that I'm grateful for #thread 
1 – I am beyond proud of the ~40,000 Mastercard Foundation Scholars. 18,000+ have graduated from secondary school & university. They’ve overcome barriers & achieved
Take Bior Ajak for example. He went from herding goats as a young boy in S. Sudan. To being a refugee in Kenya. To graduating from McGill University & getting a job with a bank. Now, he advocates for refugees. Recently, he moved his parents to a better home.
2 – I’m proud of how Scholars & Alumni are giving back to their communities through their enterprises and projects. A recent survey of alumni found that 40% are supporting their siblings' education. A virtuous cycle!
3 – @MastercardFdn Scholars/Alumni are leading at school & at work. In private & public sectors. Among them our 1st senator in #Kenya, the youngest minister in #Rwanda cabinet, and many entrepreneurs tackling poverty, climate change, exclusion, etc.
4 – I’m grateful that @MastercardFdn Scholars/Alumni who are entrepreneurs have created 16,000+ jobs. Learn about a few of the many ventures they’ve built here: mastercardfdn.org/all/scholars/s…
5 – I’m grateful for our partners of the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program. From a group of 9 institutions to now 40+ orgs changing the lives of 40,000+ Scholars. More than 50% of our #HigherEd partners are African institutions.
6 – I’m grateful for how the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program Partner network has spawned new collaborations. In Health, Pandemic Sciences, Climate Change & Education. E.g. this partnership w/ @ASU & @usiu to help #highered institutions deliver e-learning global.asu.edu/mastercard-fou…
7 – I’m grateful for @MastercardFdn Scholars Program partners’ commitment to inclusion. Over 70% of Scholars/Alumni have been young women. And, partners have taken intentional steps to include young people with disability & forcibly displaced youth.
E.g. here’s an inspiring story of a @MastercardFdn Scholar from Zambia who is deaf & started a sign language club at the @UofT that led to a new, accredited linguistics course focused on American Sign Language and deaf culture & open to all students utoronto.ca/news/michael-s…
8 – I’m grateful for our #secondaryed partners. Early on, the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program focused particularly on enabling access to learning at this level. As more countries adopt #freesecondaryschool the Scholars Program will focus on enabling university access. BUT…
...(cont'd) we remain committed to catalysing improvements in secondary education to drive inclusion & prepare young people for the world of work. Here’s a @MastercardFdn report highlighting key recommendations for #SecondaryEd, many of which we'll pursue mastercardfdn.org/secondary-educ…
9 – I’m grateful for all of the staff that make the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program possible! From members of our team, to teams based at our partner institutions that recruit, onboard, & deliver holistic support to young people in the Program. Their commitment is invaluable.
10 – I am grateful for how the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program changed us at the @MastercardFdn. It is our oldest, longest-running initiative. It helped define our values, approach to partnership, & paved the way for our #YoungAfricaWorks strategy mastercardfdn.org/research/young…
As we look to the next 10 years of the @MastercardFdn Scholars Program, our goal is to more than double our impact to reach a total of 100,000 young people by 2030. If the last decade is anything to go by, they will be an unstoppable force for transformation! #Scholars10
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