Queen’s University Canada (Kingston, ON) graduated its first batch of Masters in Occupational Therapy Fellows on 27th October 2020. The Fellows Haben Tesfamichael and Zelalem Demeke are staff members from the University of Gondar (Gondar, Ethiopia).
The University of Gondar (UoG) won a grant from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program back in 2016 that allowed its staff members to get a once in a lifetime education at Queen’s University Canada, which is one of the premier Educational Institutions in the world.
Due to the current global Coronavirus pandemic, the graduation ceremony had been streamed live through the internet platform Zoom. Instructors, coordinators, graduate students and members from the Foundation were all present to congratulate the two individuals on their successful completion of their studies.
What made the day more special than other days is the fact that the ceremony landed on the same day as World Occupational Therapy Day. The fellows expressed their delight in the Occupational Therapy program at Queen’s University and are eager to come back to their native country to share their newfound knowledge and to treat others with this unique science.
In the coming weeks the graduates will be tasked with occupational therapy related work here in the country of Ethiopia. Among the endeavors they will concentrate on starting clinical services in occupational therapy at UoG Hospital, a 400-bed university hospital which acts as the referral center for four district hospitals in the area, and starting the first ever BSc level occupational therapy training program at the school of medicine.
The two graduates will be among many other fellows (who will graduate in the near future) who will be tasked with establishing Ethiopia’s first occupational therapy department.
Source: Scholars Program UoG