The Association of Genocide Survivor Students (AERG) has called upon members of the Diaspora for more support to complete the One Dollar Campaign Project.

The call was made yesterday during a visit by a cross-section of  the Diaspora to witness the construction progress of the first phase of a hostel meant to accommodate homeless Genocide survivor students.

The four storied hostel is estimated to cost over Rwf 1 billion upon completion while the whole project, which includes recreational facilities and commercial complexes for the project’s sustainability, is estimated at over Rwf 4 billion.

Addressing the Diaspora at the construction site at Kagugu in Gasabo District, the national AERG coordinator, Egide Gatari, said though their contributions had done a lot, there was a still a long way to go.

"The first phase is almost complete, but it is far from sufficient if you consider the number of needy students,” said Gatari who added that their census showed there were over 1,200 homeless students across the country.

"We need more of your support to see that this project is completed and at least the problem is solved halfway.” He said.

The One Dollar project was initiated by the Rwandan Diaspora Global Network (RDGN) with the aim of providing Genocide orphans with decent shelter.

Some of the students are forced to remain at their schools during holidays for lack of where to go.

The initial target of the campaign was to collect Rwf 1.5 billion to build the hostel.  But it was later revised to include other buildings to accommodate more orphans and income generating projects to sustain the occupants.

The Director General for Diaspora in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parfait Gahamanyi, reiterated AERG’s call and urged them to help complete what they began.

"We should be happy for what we have achieved so far, but let us regulate our joy because we have just completed a quarter of what needs to be done.

"Since we are the first people who thought about this project, let us also be the first to think how we can spearhead the drive to get more funds to finish what we started,” said Gahamanyi.

Various members of the Diaspora who took the floor and expressed satisfaction with the progress of the works and pledged to sensitise more of their colleagues and friends to see to it that the whole project is completed.