Thomas and Piron Grands Lacs, a wing  of Belgian group Thomas & Piron a construction company, donated construction materials to Gisenyi Vocational Training Centre, worth Rwf24 million.

The material included iron sheets, ceiling boards, doors, windows as well as computers.

"Each year the company selects one project that they support either by giving money or supplying materials,” said Caroline Piron, the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas and Piron Rwanda.

The school has 120 students training in electricity, plumbing, welding and tailoring as well as ICT skills.

"The school structures were completely old and, during rainy seasons, it rained on students and interrupted classes but it has now changed positively,” said Evarist Tuyisenge, the school’s Director.

Tuyisenge attributed their good performance to the renovation of the school that improved the learning conditions of the students.

Thomas and Piron supported different organizations for the last few years and they have a preference for projects related to training.

"In this case what attracted our interest is the fact that the school is a technical school and there is a lack of skilled technicians in our industry,” added Piron.

Piron explained that students study in a good environment which has attracted more students.  "We believe it is very important that students are offered a stable environment to learn,” she said.the company encourages more students to join vocational schools.

"The lack of capacity to follow up on interns in various institutions and inadequate equipment are still a big challenge,” said Tuyisenge.

However, Thomas and Piron promised to offer their students internship.

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