During their visit to pay homage to victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi laid to rest at Kigali Genocide Memorial, Equity Bank staff donated Rwf3m as their contribution towards the ongoing fight against the Genocide and welfare of survivors.
This was on the afternoon of Friday, June 18, after bank’s staff had a guided tour at the memorial where over 250,000 Genocide victims are laid to rest.
The tour aimed at helping the bank’s employees understand how the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was prepared and executed to exterminate over a million in lives in just 100 days.
The team also laid wreaths at the mass graves.
According to Hannington Namara, the Managing Director of Equity Bank Rwanda, the donation is their contribution towards the fight against Genocide.
"To me, this cannot be called support rather a contribution to mitigate the effects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” he said adding that giving should be a culture embraced by Rwandans of all walks of life.
"Because we have relatives, colleagues, clients and friends who are survivors of this tragedy.”
"So, among the responsibilities we have is to make sure all those people are well catered for and live a comforted life. Similarly, we should also join efforts to make sure this (Genocide) does not happen again,” he added.
Dieudonne Nagiriwubuntu who represented the Kigali Genocide Memorial hailed the bank for the contribution.
"We are really glad of this contribution, this shows us that we are not alone in the fight, we have people who are backing us, and we are sure that with your support, we will not give up,” he noted.
On the other side, Idesbard Nshuti who was one of the bank’s employees who visited the memorial said that education should be one of the weapons to use in the fight against Genocide.
"I have learnt that genocide was planned for so long and people were indoctrinated to the level at which someone could kill a toddler of two years. People had no humanity left in them.”