RDF treats 6,000 in Nyaruguru

NYARUGURU – As part of activities to mark the annual Army Week, a team of Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) medics from Kanombe Military Hospital is in Nyaruguru District offering free treatment at Munini Hospital.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
An RDF doctor attends to a patient at Munini hospital last monday. The New Times / JP Bucyensenge.

NYARUGURU – As part of activities to mark the annual Army Week, a team of Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) medics from Kanombe Military Hospital is in Nyaruguru District offering free treatment at Munini Hospital.The exercise, which targets mainly Genocide survivors with psychological and physical injuries, is organised by RDF in partnership with the Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG) and the umbrella organization of Genocide survivors’ associations, Ibuka.Col. Dr. Ben Karenzi, the Director of Kanombe Military Hospital, said they expecteto treat at least 6,000 patients in six days.According to FARG officials, about 6,500 survivors in Nyaruguru have serious wounds while countrywide, statistics stand at over 18,000.Though the survivors are the main target of the campaign, the same services will also be extended to the rest of the community according to RDF.In an interview with The New Times, Karenzi said: "We came with a team of 60 experts, we have enough equipment and we are well prepared.”The RDF 4th Division  Commander, Col. Jean de Dieu Sekamana, observed that the activities are part of the commitment of the army towards the promotion and improvement of the social welfare of the population.He observed that the role of RDF does not end at safeguarding the country’s security, but that it also extends to helping the population uplift their living conditions."Such activities are part of our responsibilities. The Rwanda Defence Forces have the duty to contribute to the national development, as any other citizens and organs”, Sekamana observed.