The President of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Wilson N. C. Ted, is set to visit Rwanda next month during which he will inaugurate several projects run by the church.

Ted first came to Rwanda in March 2012, during which he flagged off the construction of two projects; the just concluded nine-storey building in the city centre, which will accommodate Rwanda’s Seventh–day Adventist headquarters and the new Adventist University of Central Africa Science and Technology–Gishushu Campus.

According to Prince Bahati, the director of communication for Rwanda’s Union Mission for Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ted will inaugurate the two structures on February 10 and 11 respectively.

"Ted will inaugurate the two structures as well as celebrate with Rwandan Church upon reaching that milestone,” Bahati said.

Bahati noted that the global Adventists head is also expected to flag off another construction project of Adventist Regional Medical School in Masoro, Gasabo District.

This was confirmed by Eng. Abel Ngabo Sebahashyi, the Vice-Chancellor/Rector of the Adventist University of Central Africa.

"The Church does not only preach the gospel even though that is our main objective, but also promotes education, health, and community development, among others. The new proposed international medical school will, therefore, aim at serving Rwandans in one of those aspects,” Sebahashyi said.

The medical school is meant to serve 11 member countries in the Great Lakes region, including Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Eretria, Somalia, and Djibouti.

"These countries operate as one family and will contribute toward the construction of the proposed medical school,” Sebahashyi said.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has about 18 million followers worldwide, currently runs 55 schools in Rwanda, including the oldest private tertiary institution in the country, Gitwe Polytechnic.

"We are lucky to have been chosen as the site for the new proposed medical school, which will be one of the biggest varsities in the Great Lakes region.

"The new science and technology campus will also help boost the national vision of having an ICT-led economy,” said Eng. Sebahashyi.

During his first visit to Rwanda, Ted with his wife Nancy Louise Vollmer, said the Adventist Church was committed to supporting Rwanda’s education, health and spiritual programmes.

The Seventh–day Adventist headquarters, together with the Adventist University of Central Africa Science and Technology campus, are estimated to have cost about 5 billion Rwandan francs.

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