MTN Foundation Rwanda last week handed a cheque of Rwf24 million to Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission (RDRC) as university tuition fees for 40 vulnerable children of disabled ex-combatants enrolled to in different universities this academic year.

The beneficiaries are those who have no financial capacity to be able to join university after they completed secondary school in various years.

Zulphat Mukarubega , the chairperson of MTN Foundation, said that the educational support aims at recognising the heroes who lost their lives and those who got disabilities during the liberation war.

Zulphat Mukarubega, the chairperson of MTN Foundation (right) hands a dummy cheque to Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission officials.

"MTN uses one per cent of its profits to support community. As we celebrate national heroes’ day, on February 1, we want to thank heroes who liberated this country and led it to where we are today.  We want to help children of the ex-combatants who are struggling to afford education,” she said.

She said there are other 26 students who were supported in the same way and have graduated so far while 30 TVET schools, each from a district in the country.

"Those students are supported until they graduate. Different stakeholders should embrace such good spirit of social corporate responsibility in the community they serve, including ex-combatants and their children who are struggling to afford basic  services,” she noted.

She urged the students to study  hard.

"Today you are lucky to benefit from the good governance, and a peaceful country. Embrace heroic values to sustain the achievements that have been made in terms of rebuilding and developing the nation,” she said.

 Mukarubega added that social support by MTN Foundation has been provided in other areas, including treating over 1,000 people with cleft lip by bringing health experts to Rwanda.

Other types of support, she said, include training 89 community health workers, supplying solar energy to 400 households in Nyaruguru and Gisagara districts and providing computers to cell leaders to improve grassroots service delivery.

Idrissa Kalisa, one of the children who benefitted from educational support, said he graduated from senior six four years ago and could not afford university.

"I am lucky I will now go to University. Some of us completed secondary school some years back but had no chance to further our studies. We thank MTN Foundation, we will now study, succeed to develop ourselves and the country in general,” he said.

Evangelique Umubyeyi, a young girl who completed secondary school in 2017, said: "We are happy to see people thinking of how our social welfare can be improved. It is a surprise for me to find myself at university. We thank MTN Foundation and Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission. I thank the Government for setting up the commission through which our parents have been getting support.”

Beline Batamuliza, one of the parents, added; "I am a widow and welcome this support since I could not afford to pay tuition fees for my son at university.”

RDRC officials said that the support is in line with sustainable reintegration of ex-combatants and human resource capacity building and national development targets to reduce poverty.

Brig. Gen. John Peter Bagabo, who represented the commission at the event, said that the support is a good gesture.

"Your parents liberated the country and you have to embrace heroic values to develop yourselves and the country. Heroism is not only manifested through liberation war but also other development endeavours,” he said.

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