As a way to improve the learning environment at a Central Equatoria State school, the Rwandan battalion serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unamiss), on Monday, handed over newly constructed school buildings to the South Sudanese government.

According to a statement from the UN, during a routine patrol in May, last year, the soldiers observed pupils at Kapuri Primary School studying under trees and in make-shift classrooms with no sanitation facilities. 

Returning to the Mission’s base, they recommended assisting the community with the construction of a new school. 

The battalion began construction in September, last year, in partnership with the UN Children’s Education Fund (Unicef), members of the Rwandan community in South Sudan, and local Kapuri communities.

Handed over were eight classrooms, two staff offices and washrooms Rwandan contingent Commander Mutara Nkangura said the estimated cost of constructing the school was reduced to 36 per cent of its original estimate because of voluntary participation by different stakeholders.

"The construction cost was $219,000 but because of community and stakeholders’ participation, the cost was reduced to about $79,000,” Col Nkangura is quoted in the statement as saying.

Geoffrey Kayonde, the chairperson of the Rwandan community in South Sudan, said the Rwandan government had instilled in its citizens a culture of responsibility for themselves as well as for other communities in which they live, whether in the country or on foreign lands. 

He added that they brought this culture to South Sudan, seeking to help meet the needs of the community which, in this case, was education.

"When you educate the nation, you have dealt with almost all the causes of insecurity and reasons why people fight,” he said. "When you educate children, you give them an opportunity to open up (and) to interact with people from other cultures so that they will appreciate human diversity.”

Kayonde said he hoped the spirit of Rwandan community work (Umuganda) would remain in South Sudan even after the peacekeepers had left. 

Juba County Commissioner Stephen Wani said South Sudanese should emulate the voluntary work done by the Rwandan battalion, adding that it was time for the war-torn country to embark on development rather than fighting. 

"Let’s make South Sudan a home for everybody,” said Wani. "Let us forgive one another for us to move ahead. Let us forget our differences so that peace comes back to our country.” 

Simon Kenyi James, director of Northern Bari payam, urged the Kapuri community and parents to use the school facilities effectively and send their children to the school. 

He noted that constructing the school had helped remove costs incurred by parents to transport pupils from Kapuri to schools in Juba town.

Lilian Okwirry, Unicef Water, Sanitation and Hygiene chief, said the voluntary construction of Kapuri Primary School was a true reason to work together to better communities, pledging that Unicef would maintain water and sanitation in the school. 

"Unicef, in its "back-to-learning” project, will ensure that learning materials are available to pupils,” she added.

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