Biography of H.E. Nyakeru Nkana Dénise Tshisekedi, The First Lady of DRC and Ambassador of Merck More Than A Mother
“On January 25, 1968, blinded by the headlights of another vehicle coming in the opposite direction, Papa Etienne Nyakeru and Maman Christine M’ntalushika will experience a fatal accident on Industrial Avenue in Bukavu, in the company of Papa’s little brother. Nyakeru, Joseph Mukombe Banywesize. And the three of them will die instantly, ”reports Father Jean-Bosco Bahala, who has written a brief biography of the distinguished First Lady.
After the tragedy, the 8 children: Nyakeru Naweza Spéciose Christine, eldest of the family who has already left this land for two years and wife of General Gilbert Kabanda Kurhenga; Nyakeru Nabami Stéphanie, wife of the late Professor Ngangura Kasole Etienne, Nyakeru Mweze Christophe, Nyakeru Njuma Jeannette; Nyakeru Kalunga John, current Head of State Protocol at the Presidency of the Republic; Nyakeru Ntalushika Joe-Christian; Nyakeru Ngami Jean-Paul Franck and Nyakeru Nkana Denise, current distinguished First Lady, were adopted and cared for by their maternal uncle, Abbé Ngami Mdahwa Sylvestre, Catholic chaplain in chief of the Zairian Armed Forces -FAZ- until his died in 1985 in a traffic accident on Avenue Université in Kinshasa.
Thereafter, Dénise Nyakeru Tshisekedi had a good life on the school bench. She completed her primary and secondary education followed by training as a Caregiver. So she is a nurse.
“She worked in various nursing homes in Belgium, the last of which is the Ariane nursing home in Brussels”.
Born March 9, 1967 in Bukavu, South Kivu, Denise NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI has been married for twenty-three years to the fifth President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo. She is the proud mother of five children including a boy and four girls.
She obtained her state diploma and continued her studies in Belgium, where she subsequently began a career as a caregiver.
A profession imbued with altruism, respect, solidarity, and generosity, values which have built it, which define it and which will govern the choices of its future social commitments.
Since the accession of her husband to the Supreme Magistracy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the one we now call “the Very Distinguished First Lady”, has been involved in the enhancement of Congolese women and girls, through her foundation “Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi Foundation (FDNT)”.
The FDNT, created in May 2019, focuses its attention on 4 crucial axes in order to achieve the above-mentioned ultimate goal.
First, it is about women’s health, which is the basis of any effective policy.
Second, the education of young girls, especially those from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds.
Third, the fight against all forms of violence which destroy the image of women and girls, both for themselves and for society, and thus tend to undermine it.
And finally, the financial empowerment of Congolese women who are the last link in the chain, because only a woman in good health, well educated and far from any form of violence, can claim to contribute to the development of her nation.
Appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the World Population Fund (UNFPA) in May 2019, for the fight against gender-based violence and the empowerment of women.
She was also designated “World Champion for the Prevention of Violence Sexual related to conflicts ” by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in charge of this issue, in December 2019.
This title, far from being a reward, is a mission: to carry the voice of the victims of this scourge at the highest level of national, regional and global institutions with the United Nations.
Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor
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