Africa
00:48, 03-Apr-2019
Chinese companies create a scholarship for vocational training in Kenya
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The Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association (KCETA) on Tuesday announced the creation of the Jin Yetao Scholarship to support vocational and technical training development in Kenya.
The scholarship has been set up in honour of Jin Yetao, 33, a Chinese national who was among the 157 people killed when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in Bishoftu near Addis Ababa.
The Scholarship will begin operations immediately with an initial Ksh1.5 million allocated to benefit 15 students, according to the association's secretary, Li Chen.
The first group of recipients will receive the scholarship in September later this year. Some Kenyan universities, such as Kenya Technical Trainers College and Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology, have already expressed their willingness to participate in the program.
Li added that only students in their last two years of study are eligible for application.
The General Manager of China Road and Bridge Corporation in Kenya, Li Changgui, mourned the death of a man whom he said had dedicated his professional career to the development of Africa.
“It is our sincere hope that the Scholarship in his honour will encourage generations to come to follow in his footsteps to promote vocational and technical skills in the Kenyan workforce, which is of paramount importance to the Big Four Agenda and overall development of Kenya,” Changgui said.
The Kenyan government expressed its appreciation for the foundation of the Jin Yetao Scholarship noting that vocational and technical skills are the foundation upon which all industries will prosper and lead to the creation of meaningful employment.
Dr. Guo Ce, China's Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Kenya, praised Yetao saying his example will encourage the Chinese and Kenyans to work even harder and jointly promote their friendship to an even higher level.
Su Tianshu, the CEO of AVIC International, the company Yetao worked for at the time of his death, described him as an excellent Ambassador of the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to expand cooperation between China and Africa.
The KCETA is a non-profit organization comprising 97 members of Chinese companies which aims to explore business cooperation between China and Kenya to enhance cultural exchange and promote community cohesion through corporate social responsibility.