OTHER EMBASSY NEWS
75 attend pre-departure orientation seminar
U.S. pledges commitment to Zim’s restoration
July 18, 2008
Over 70 prospective undergraduate students and 20 parents attended a full day pre-departure orientation programme organized by the U.S. Embassy Thursday, July 17.
The pre-departure orientation is an annual event organized by the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section to provide students accepted at American colleges and universities with information on a wide range of topics including health and safety, cultural adaptation, US academic difference and immigration regulations to help them during their time in the U.S. During the seminar, education advisors, returned Zimbabwean students and other Embassy officials answer questions students and parents may have.
Officiating at the event, U.S. Embassy’s Charge d’ affaires Katherine Dhanani congratulated the students and said the United States of America will continue to promote human rights that will lead to the restoration of economic prosperity to ensure Zimbabwean graduates participate in the future development of their country.
Over 1500 Zimbabwean students are enrolled at accredited universities and colleges in the United States. However, many students pursuing tertiary education see no future at home after they complete their studies given the deteriorating economic situation in Zimbabwe. Unemployment in the formal industrial sector in Zimbabwe is estimated to be above 85 percent resulting in many seeking opportunities elsewhere.
“I am quite sure that one element of Zimbabwean's aspirations for their future is for the nation to once again become a country
to which students hurry back after graduation, a country in which their education is a major force for development, and a country in which returning students feel their contribution is valued and rewarded,” said Dhanani.
“I hope that when you complete your studies, Zimbabwe will be such a country. I pledge to you that while you are away, my government will do its best to help Zimbabweans create a productive future for you here, in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Among the departing students are 19 graduates of the United States Achievers Program (USAP). The United States Student Achievers Program (USAP) assists highly-talented, economically-disadvantaged A level students to negotiate and finance the process of obtaining full scholarships to study at selective US colleges and universities.