How much would you donate to your Alma Mater to ensure its continuity and expansion for the benefit of the next generation? The Rwandan chapter of Ntare School Old Boys Association, joined by friends of the school proved their loyalty when they convened Friday evening to raise funds for the construction of the Ntare School in Rwanda.

The special reunion dinner that doubled as a fundraiser was attended by both Presidents Paul Kagame and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni; both old Boys and patrons of the school. Kagame attended Ntare School from 1972 to 1976 while President Museveni was there much earlier in the 1960s.

By the end of the fundraiser held at the Kigali Serena Hotel, $1.25m (about Rwf875m) had been raised. The school is to be constructed in Bugesera District at an estimated Rwf6bn or $9m, according to the old boys association.

President Kagame, who pledgd Rwf100m, referred to his Alma Mater fondly terming it as a "home away from refugee camps.” The president went on to say that the school provided an opportunity for education in a life changing environment.

"For this and many other reasons, the institutional culture and values of Ntare is worth replicating here in Rwanda,” Kagame told his former school mates and friends of the school.

"This project mirrors and reflects the spirit of the integration we are developing in East Africa. Our greatest responsibility as old boys is to transmit this legacy of values to the next generations,” he added.

Citing the importance of the project, Kagame said that he would do everything in his means to see it up and running in three years as opposed to 10 years as had been previously proposed.

Commending the initiative, Museveni who donated $200,000, said that Ntare School gave training that allowed its students to rise above the turmoil that was in Uganda at the time.

Upon completion, the school will be a not- for-profit institution and will partner with the government for quality assurance, according to the chairman of the school’s Old Boys association, Rwandan chapter, Aaron Turamye.

The evening was characterized by memories of the old boys’ school days and catching up with long lost former school mates.

From banks, insurance companies to city businessmen, Rwanda’s top corporation and business community were also at hand to give a hand to the initiative.

The highlight of the evening was the auctioning of a painting of Kagame and Museveni, autographed by the two leaders, which sold at Rwf32m to nusinessman Robert Bapfakurera.

Donating $50,000 on behalf of South Sudan president Salva Kiir, South Sudan Foreign Minister recalled the role of Rwandan peacekeepers in building a school for South Sudanese children through Umuganda with local communities.

Noting that the school would be close to his country’s border with Rwanda, Burundi’s Second Vice President Gervais Rufyikiri, pledged to call for support for the school construction from Burundians.

Founded by Scottish educator William Crichton in 1956, Ntare School is in western Uganda and today has over 40 Rwandan students and more than 100 Rwandan Old Boys.

Three years ago, Ntare School and Lycee de Kigali (LDK) embarked on a partnership programme. Teachers and students of the two institutions often conduct visits to teach and learn from each other.