Speaking to The Zimbabwean on the sidelines of the launch of Africas 49th American Centre in Gweru, Priester, who is based in Johannesburg, said over 32 700 African children have been sent to study in various universities in the US since 2001 on scholarships. The support has been coming from US Department of State.
The centre is situated at Gweru Memorial Library, which was established in 1898. It becomes the third in Zimbabwe after the two located in Harare and Bulawayo. It will seek to connect Zimbabweans with US culture and values.
Priester pointed out that most of those children were taken from West Africa on the basis of their intellectual abilities while 1 509 came from Zimbabwe.
Africa has got vast intellectual talent that lies untapped and this has been our observation over the years in which we have been conducting this project, she said.
She said it was despicable that, despite efforts by the US to intervene in turning around Africa, there had been negative publicity.
People have said we are fuelling brain drain but how can it be so when the students we are churning out from US universities are coming back to work in their various countries? she asked.
Five students from Gweru have benefited from the programme and will be flying to the US in August to conduct their studies there.
Tawanda Zimuto, who will learn at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) expressed delight over the US gesture, and spoke highly against politicizing it.
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