By Editorial Board, Winnipeg District
Joshua Okyere, a Deacon at the Amazing Grace Assembly in Winnipeg District and a Ph.D. Student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba has been selected as a 2021 scholar for the highly esteemed and most prestigious Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship and Engaged Leadership program. This program prepares doctoral candidates to lead the charge and impact their communities and the world. Appointed Scholars will receive funding as they continue to find success in their studies, professional development, and beyond. Above all, Scholars will become a part of a community of distinguished leaders, providing a unique opportunity to enrich their skillset with guidance from the Foundation’s alumni network.
He was born and raised in a village in the Huni-Valley District in the Western region of Ghana. Throughout his life, he followed his father to church services and village crusades. Joshua has relied on the provision of God to make it through undergraduate to the graduate level. After his national service in Ghana, he won a scholarship to study at the Ohio University in the United States. Out of faith and partial funding, Joshua decided to move to Canada to pursue his Ph.D. after graduation. He has been well involved in the activities of the church in Winnipeg, serving in various capacities.
According to Joshua, his district pastor Gabriel Addo-Asante on the 31st night preached from Zechariah 1:13 and declared “2021 as our year of good news.” He received the word and decided to run with it, for Habakkuk 2:3 states, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end, it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” With faith in the word, he applied for this exceptional scholarship. The prayer team in Winnipeg, led by the pastor, launched fervent prayers into the application to invoke the hand of God. Joshua was then shortlisted as one of the 102 semi-finalists out of the 643 applicants. After group interviews, he was again selected as one of the 36 finalists. Along this path, candidates responded to challenging questions, participated in group interviews, analyzed case studies, and were assessed by leading academics and the Foundation alumni during their final assessment in March. To the Glory of God, Joshua Okyere was selected as one of the 15 scholars for 2021. Joshua is the first person in his department and third at the University of Manitoba’s history to win this prestigious award.
Joshua is grateful to God for such a huge honor and blesses the lives of all who prayed and supported him. Those who trust in God shall not be put to shame. Grace is the maker of men.