Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni Highlight #5: Rahel Olana

| 4 September 2025 |

We have been highlighting the careers of Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumni. In this edition we focus on Rahel Olana, who graduated from the MSc Occupational Therapy program at Queen's.

Rahel graduated from Queen’s University's MSc Occupational Therapy program in November 2024. Since then, she has been teaching various courses and supervising students at the University of Gondar (UoG) and was proud to witness the recent graduation of the first cohort of Ethiopian BSc Occupational Therapy graduates.

She has been participating in different events happening in Ethiopia, becoming one of the facilitators of the regular University of Gondar Occupational Therapy (OT) internal sensitization event prepared by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and the OT department at UoG on World Occupational Therapy Day, and the first-ever OT job fair that created opportunities for new graduates to meet potential employers.

Rahel has also been engaging in different continuous professional development and networking events. One of these was the 13th Occupational Therapy African Regional Group (OTARG) Congress, where she had the chance to meet Occupational Therapists practicing in Africa. Through such networks, she is committed to continuing to create mentorship opportunities for new graduates and students in Ethiopia to support OT professionals’ capacity building in Ethiopia

School of Rehabilitation Therapy