KIGALI - Kicukiro District authorities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, yesterday, donated 49 Friesian cows to disabled demobilized soldiers.

The beneficiaries are all residents of Nyarugunga and Masaka sectors in Kicukiro.

The donation is in line with the government’s Girinka Munyarwanda (One Cow per Poor Family) programme, under which thousands of cattle have been given to poor households across the country.

Brig Gen John Peter Bagabo, a Commissioner in Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), told the beneficiaries to take good care of the cows.

"The main objective of these cows is to fight against poverty. They will definitely improve your living standards,” Bagabo said.

Clarisse Ingabire, the coordinator of One Cow per Poor Family programme, told the beneficiaries to ensure the animals are not attacked by diseases, adding that the ministry had vaccinated them before handing them over.

Kicukiro Mayor, Paul Jules Ndamage, underlined the significance of the ex-combatants benefiting from the programme.

"This donation manifests the love President Paul Kagame has for you, as people who played a significant role in the liberation of this nation,” Ndamage said.

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