President Paul Kagame has challenged African youths, who get opportunities to study from the world’s best schools, to keep their ambitions aligned with the greater targets of their native countries.

Kagame said this, yesterday, at the Bridge2Rwanda commissioning ceremony of 41 students from Burundi, Liberia, South Sudan, DR Congo and Rwanda, who have landed scholarships to study at some of the world’s renowned universities and colleges through the Bridge2Rwanda Scholars programme.

The students, who have been in Rwanda for over a year undergoing career preparatory lessons by Bridged2Rwanda, are bound to join Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard, Princeton University, Brown University, Tufts University, Williams University and University of Pennsylvania, among others.

"Nothing has greater value than human beings endowed with the knowledge and values needed to achieve their full potential,” Kagame said.

He added, "Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, find your own way to keep Africa and Rwanda at the front of your mind and in your heart.”

The President reminded the students that they belong to families, communities and nations, to which everyone owes a part of the success they are fortunate to attain through acquiring first-class education opportunities.

He noted that when the right mindset and enabling environment are in place, nothing can hold any given African society back.

"The more you achieve, in fact, the greater your responsibility to those around you, and to society as a whole,” he said, adding, "As individuals, we cannot achieve much, no matter how talented. But together we can do anything,” the President noted.

Bridge2Rwanda is an American non-governmental organisation (NGO) which offers preparatory lessons to high school graduates who qualify for scholarships in American universities. The organization also goes an extra mile of outsourcing fully paid university scholarships for the exceptionally smart students from Rwanda and neighboring countries.

Mary Ingabire, a Rwandan student who intends to pursue international relations and diplomacy at Hendrix College, said that the opportunity is rather more of a challenge than jubilation.

"The President was sending us out into the world to go make our dreams and the dreams of our nations come true. It is a big challenge, knowing that everyone expects so much from you, but we will take it on as a source of encouragement to aim for the best,” Ingabire said.

Serge Saidi, 23, from the DR Congo, will be headed to Harvard College of engineering, with a one statement in mind; "to go on to do great things for my country and my continent.”

"It is always a good feeling to feel welcomed and loved in a country that is not yours. And why not, I see myself becoming more of an African citizen than just someone from Congo,” he added.

Dale Dawson, the chief executive of Bridge2Rwanda, said that the programme is aimed at transforming Rwanda into a knowledge hub of Africa.

"Our interest is in helping young people from Rwanda to develop their capacity and we haven’t run short of extremely talented and inspiring young people here. We want Rwanda to become a regional influence and knowledge hub, and that’s what drives us,” Dawson told The Sunday Times.

According to Fonda Kempton, the organisation’s executive director, Bridge2Rwanda has seen about 175 Africa students, majority of whom are from Rwanda, join different celebrated universities and colleges across the world. 

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