Rwandan socialite and entrepreneur Kate Bashabe insists people don’t need to be rich to help those who are in need.
Bashabe made the bold statement on Friday, December 27, after donating school materials to over 1,000 children in Kicukiro District in Masaka Sector as part of her routine charity initiative during the festive season under her organisation ‘Kabash Cares’. The stationery items included notebooks, pens, mathematical sets and school bags among others.
This was the best gift that Bashabe thought of giving children and their parents as she joined them in celebrating Christmas Day and festive season in general.
"I like to help children in their education because it is the main foundation of life and the government is prioritizing it. These [children] are the future of this nation and they need to study to have a bright future,” Bashabe said.
"You can’t be a doctor, for instance, if you haven’t gone to school. So, I focused to supporting children in their education because there is a number of students who drop out of school due to lack of school materials or school feeding among other needs,” she added.
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Bashabe, who has been doing philanthropy activities for close to a decade, insists she extends support to the needy not because she has a lot of money to do so but because she feels the need to give back to the community regardless of how big or small she can contribute.
"No, it’s just having that heart of giving a helping hand to those who are underprivileged, making sure that it does bring a positive impact to the community. We don’t do this to show that we are wealthy, we just want children to go back to school,” she said.
The socialite revealed that a big portion of the resources she uses in her charity work are contributions from partners, friends and family and everyone who admires what she does for the community.
With their support, she was this time able to raise as many school materials as she could so they can benefit many children.
Bashabe called on more Rwandans to join the cause considering that there are more children out there who need this kind of support.
"I wish I had enough resources to help more and I would like to call on Rwandans that to be part of this because you don’t need to have that much to help. We can help our country which I don’t think can solely solve all these problems without our contribution,” she said.
The activity was attended by Kicukiro District Executive Administrator Antoine Mutsinzi who hailed the Bashabe’s initiative which aims at changing young people’s lives and give them a future with her educational support.
"We need more people like Kate Bashabe. Look at how happy children are now. They not only celebrated festive holidays but, with the support, they also hope to go back to school,” Mutsinzi said.
Kate Bashabe is famous for her clothing store &039;Kabash Fashion' and other ventures including Kabash Cares, a non-profit organisation she founded for charity works. She rose to fame in 2010 after winning a beauty pageant organised by MTN Rwanda.