The Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR) has donated 5591 text books, worth Frw100 million, to four schools in the country.

Umutara Polytechnic in the Eastern province and Ecole Saint Joseph Kicukiro, Apapec-Irebero and SOS Rwanda in Kigali City benefited from the donation.

Innocent Rurangwa, the SSFR Human Resource and Finance Director, handed the books to the respective schools representatives on Thursday.

"We know we have a duty to support the community and we plan to move into more social interventions," Rurangwa said.

The donation is a timely boost to the government’s promotion a knowledge based economy and reading culture among Rwandans. SSFR also says it is their corporate social responsibility to give back to the public.

Rurangwa said that the books were not given out because SSFR did not need them but because ‘we felt that the schools needed them most.’

The package included commerce, medicine, and accounts books.

So far, SSFR has made a contribution of Frw75 million through such donations, Rurangwa said. He cited the support they gave to returnees from Tanzania and the flood victims in Nyabihu District, Western Province.

The Rector of Umutara Polytechnic, Prof. Terence Claus Fogarty, said: "This (donation) is relevant to the university since it tackles a number of disciplines." Fogarty who is also the Vice chancellor Umutara Polytechnic added that they still lack a number of facilities like a computer laboratory.

He said that the university also received books from Labour and Public Service minister Prof. Manasseh Nshuti, World Vision and the US Embassy.

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