“As a young woman from a disadvantaged background, both school and university were out of my reach, I know the value of education and I want to support other young people on the continent to reach their dreams.”

– Dr Shakira Choonara

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The Shakira Choonara Young African Scholarship Award is awarded each year to a deserving final year student at either the undergraduate or postgraduate level (Honors, Masters, PhD). The scholarship supports final year tuition fees for a disadvantaged student. The student must be pursuing a university degree and have a track record of academic excellence (70% or more in the current and previous years of study.) Studies in the broader development field will be supported, desirable fields include health sciences and gender studies.

*Do note, we do not request any application fees and all applications must be made via this website only.
*We acknowledge and appreciate agencies, websites and platforms which share the scholarship, however we do not endorse other organizations,
nor are we affiliated to these organizations/ platforms.
*We only award/ fund scholarship recipients to complete their studies, we cannot be held responsible for each candidates action,
as such as do not endorse candidates other than for this scholarship award.

Scholarship applications for 2024 are now closed.

The next round of scholarship applications will open in the final quarter of 2025, stay tuned.

First Awardee, 2022

Our first scholarship awardee Ms Goitsemodimo Ditsele completed a Master of Arts in Development Studies from the University of Botswana in 2022.

“I was raised in a village called Letlhakane in Botswana. I am the last-born child in a family of three children and I was raised by a single mother. I am working for a regional organization called SRHR Africa Trust as a Programme Officer. The scholarship gave me light and hope again, as I was struggling to pay for tuition fees as a self-sponsored student. The scholarship also paved a way to achieve my dreams and it made it possible for me to get my Masters Degree.”

– Ms Goitsemodimo Ditsele, 2022 Awardee

Second Awardee, 2023

Through the Shakira Choonara Young African Scholar Award, Ms. Sanelisiwe Khumalo completed a Bachelor of Social Science Honors in Sociology at the University of the Free State in South Africa.

“My journey to this point has been shaped by the values of determination, resilience, and a deep desire to break the cycle of disadvantage that has persisted in my family and my community for generations. Things are tough for us financially. My vision for the future includes not only completing my studies, pursuing a master’s degree and making a meaningful impact on my family’s circumstances”

– Ms. Sanelisiwe Khumalo, 2023 Awardee

Third Awardee, 2024

The 2024 Shakira Choonara Young African Scholar Award Recipient is Ms. Maurine Tukahirwa. Ms. Tukahirwa is a Masters student, in Gender and Women Studies, at the Makerere University, in Uganda.

“Being awarded the Shakira Choonara Young African Scholarship means that I get the liberty to access quality education and complete my Masters Degree through generous financial support. My dream is to advance feminist and gender academic research and, on the ground action, with a strong focus towards tackling discrimination and violence against women and girls on the African Continent. I’m grateful to Dr. Choonara for her generosity and continued determination to support both myself and other young African women to overcome these barriers, which constrain many of us from achieving our dreams and a better life ”

– Ms. Maurine Tukahirwa, 2024 Awardee