HUYE – The National University of Rwanda (NUR) has concluded a weeklong community services as it seeks to help improve the lives of the communities in its environs.Since last year, the Huye-based varsity has been trying to build strong linkages with the local community to help improve their social welfare.Students and staff took part in the rehabilitation of roads and 19 houses belonging to poor families in Mucunda village, Rusatira sector. They sensitised the public against HIV/Aids, drug abuse and gender based violence, and trained residents on cooperative management. They also raised public awareness about the inviolability of court decisions, urging local leaders and bailiffs to always execute court orders.The Rector, Prof Silas Lwakabamba, said the initiative was designed to help contribute to the development of rural communities.He announced that every Saturday, the university would be dispatching at least 200 students and staff to support residents in Huye district, where the institution is located."Our students are skilled in medicine, agriculture, education, etc…each one of them has got a certain specialty. I think they are in position to impact the community they live in,” Lwakabamba said."We are going to make community service an integral part of our qualification system so that when students carry out community activities, they can do a report and be awarded certain credits. The same will apply to staff members, their role in improving the lives of the community we live in will partly inform their performance evaluation at the end of the year,” he added.In May 2011, during a visit to the University, President Paul Kagame expressed disappointment that the institution was hardly impacting the lives of the surrounding community.Kagame called for a review of the education system to ensure that it responds to the challenges that face the community. "This University should be able to turn ideas and knowledge into tools of transformation for this district,” he said at the time.In the following months, the University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Huye District, under which the former would work closely with the local community to improve their lives.As such, NUR established a directorate of Extension and Community Services, which is in charge of coordinating community service activities for sustainable socio-economic development.Speaking at the closure of the community service week, the Governor of the Southern Province, Alphonse Munyantwali, commended the partnership between the University and Huye District, noting that it will benefit the people."Strategic collaboration and cooperation is what we need to respond to the challenges we face,” he said.