The global leader of the Seventh–Day Adventist Church, Ted Wilson, yesterday broke the ground at Masoro campus to kickstart construction of facilities that will host a medical school that is envisaged to be a centre of excellence in the region.

The school, whose cost could not be readily established, will be part of the Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA).

The church leaders said the proposed medical school will be a world-class institution that will receive both Rwandan and international students from Africa and other parts of the world.

Among the facilities to be constructed as part of the school include a 1,000-seater dining hall, 100-bed dormitories, and 20-room guest house.

The facilities are specifically for the medical school, where international students will be accommodated.

At the event, the university’s rector, Dr Abel Sebahashyi, requested other church leaders and followers to pray hard for the medical school to be up and running by next year.

"We have a deadline to start the school by September 2016; that’s how aggressively we are challenged. We need your prayers,” Dr Sebahashyi said.

Dr Blasious Ruguri, the president of the General Conference for East-Central Africa region of the Adventist Church, said AUCA’s medical school will be ready to receive students from 11 countries that make up the region he leads.

"Apart from Rwanda, there is no doubt that many students will come from regional countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wilson, accompanied by Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi, yesterday, inaugurated the university’s Science and Technology Centre at Gishushu.

The Gishushu facility was completed at a cost of Rwf2.2 billion.

Government support

Reading a message sent to the university officials by President Paul Kagame, the Prime Minister emphasised that Rwanda and Africa must continue to invest in science and technology education to achieve prosperity and self-reliance.

"It is fitting that this new campus will focus on science and technology. The building is not only a distinctive architectural contribution to Kigali’s skyline, but inside it also integrates the modern technologies that young Rwandans must master, to compete in the global knowledge economy,” Kagame said in the message delivered by the Prime Minister.

Leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in the country, on Tuesday, unveiled the church’s headquarters in Kigali, a nine-storey complex located in the city centre.

Among other purposes, the building will serve as a printing facility, a dental clinic, and offices for the church leaders.

At the launch of the headquarters, Wilson challenged followers in Rwanda to extend love to all the people of the country.

"As we inaugurate this complex, I challenge you to make this a Tower of God in Kigali; so that when people pass by here they don’t say; look Adventists must be having money and are doing a good job. But they should say, these are the people who love other people, who take care of those who do not have much, who exemplify the teachings of Jesus Christ,” he said.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church mission in Rwanda has been around in the country for 30 years and counts about 700,000 followers.

The church currently runs 55 schools, including the oldest private tertiary institution in the country; Gitwe Polytechnic School.

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