The Rwandan Community in Tanzania has contributed $7,500 towards the Rwandan Development Bank’s #CanaChallenge Programme to light up 500 families’ homes.

Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Amb. Maj Gen Charles Karamba, in a letter to the Rwandan Community in Tanzania, noted that he appreciated their "invaluable contribution” towards the programme aimed at supporting poor Rwandan families in rural areas to access electricity by using solar panels.

"Your support of $7,500 has been transmitted back home and will enable BRD to install solar panels for 500 families,” Karamba’s letter reads.

"I encourage you to remain with this great Rwandan spirit and continue to be that important RCA (Rwandan community abroad) supporting the different development programmes of our country.”

Earlier, last week, the Rwandans living in China – majority being students – contributed $8,215 to light up 537 rural homes, according to James Kimonyo, Rwanda’s envoy to China. 

The campaign – targeting citizens in the first Ubudehe category, or the most vulnerable families, was launched last December by BRD to provide solar home systems to 10,000 families in remote areas. In February, the country’s diaspora community started fundraising for the campaign.

Ubudehe 1 is the socio-economic class of the most vulnerable Rwandans.

At the time, Liliane Igihozo Uwera, the Special Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) Coordinator at BRD told The New Times that they had mobilized Rwf156.3 million to light up more 10, 422 homes.

The campaign was organised considering that there was low utilisation of Renewable Energy Fund (REF) loans especially among needy families.

According to the National Electrification Plan, more than 850,000 households are yet to be connected to off-grid electricity including 87,000 households in Ubudehe category 1.

For every contribution of Rwf15, 000 ($15), BRD will top up the remaining Rwf100, 000 ($100) required to light up a rural home in Ubudehe category one.