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RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) presented a $75,000 check to the Botswana Delegation at the United Nations as a donation to the Botswana Top Achiever Program, which affords top students in the diamond-producing nation an opportunity to attend the university of their choice worldwide. Upon graduation, those students return to Botswana to contribute to its future.  The funds were the result of a ''Salute to Botswana, Diamonds Empower Africa'' event held in Washington, D.C., this past June co-hosted by DEF and the Embassy of the Republic of Botswana. Phyllis Bergman, DEF board president, reaffirmed the importance of the event. ''Botswana is a shining example of the positive impact diamonds have on communities when good governance is coupled with wise management of natural resources. Not only does Botswana manage is natural resources well, it also embraces its most important natural resource, its youth, through the Top Achiever Program. This mirrors the mission of DEF and we are thrilled to contribute to this amazing program,'' Bergman said. Botswana's ambassador to the U.S., Tebelelo Seretse, said, ''The donation illustrates the good that diamonds do, the excellent relationship between DEF and Botswana and complance to the Botswana Vision 2016 pillar of an educated and informed nation. The partnership must grow to show how development diamonds have made Botswana what it is today.''
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