Doctors for Mozambique

Contact with the Dutch foundation Doctors for Mozambique was made via a member of the Board of Trustees of the Aumund Foundation. Harrie and Birgitta van der Meeren, who teach at the Catholic University in Beira, founded this organisation which awards scholarships to talented young people from financially challenging circumstances in rural areas of Mozambique, who would not have been able to study medicine without this support. One specific objective is to include women in the scholarship programme. Birgitta van der Meeren says, “It is almost impossible for girls from rural regions to become doctors. This is one of the consequences of the cultural backdrop in rural areas, where young girls must still enter into arranged marriages and therefore have no opportunity for intellectual development.”

In a three-day selection process two young women and six young men were selected from 20 candidates. The Aumund Foundation will support the new cohort for the seven years until they graduate.