Poland offers more education support

Polish Under secretary Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz has said her government will strive to ensure the expansion of Kibeho centre for the blind, a school for visually impaired children.

Thursday, January 17, 2013
Peu0142czyu0144ska-Nau0142u0119czn speaks to Baine at the meeting yesterday. The New Times/ T. Kisambira

Polish Under secretary Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz has said her government will strive to ensure the expansion of Kibeho centre for the blind, a school for visually impaired children.The Poland top diplomat, who was accompanied by other officials from Warsaw, was speaking at a meeting with government officials led by Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Mary Baine at the ministry yesterday.Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said her government is ready to strengthen the cooperation with other sub-Saharan countries, specially by investing in education sector."Our biggest development project in Rwanda and sub-Sahara Africa is in education. We very much hope that the centre for blind children will expand in years to come and more children could be admitted to the school,” she said.The $1.3m (Rwf820m) school for the blind is the biggest project under the Polish assistance programme on the continent and was built to accommodate more than 100 blind children below 15 at primary education level.The school, located in Kibeho, Nyaruguru district, opened early last year and was inaugurated by Polish Foreign Affairs minister Radoslaw Sikorski.      PS Baine welcomed the Polish expansion idea, saying the country needs more support in developing the education sector."We appreciate your contribution towards the Kibeho School. It has benefited our disabled children in the area. The education system in the country still has a gap and needs more investments,” she said.Meanwhile, on regional security, the PS briefed the visiting officials on the DR Congo crisis and called for more international support.-------------------------------------------------------

The DR Congo crisis issue at the meeting

>> RWANDA SPEAKS> PS Mary Baine said Rwanda is ready to continue working closely with other regional countries to seek a permanent solution for the war-torn DR Congo.

> She asked the international community to understand the root cause of the DRC crisis and not rely on unfounded reports.> Baine said the UN sanctions on the M23 rebels could hinder the ongoing talks between the rebels and the Kinshasa government.

>> POLAND SPEAKS> Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said it was important for Rwanda to continue playing its part in seeking the solution for the DRC crisis, adding it was of a great significance for the economic and political development to Rwandans.

> She acknowledged Rwanda’s current position in the UN Security Council, saying the seat gives Rwanda and Poland the opportunity to foster their cooperation at a multilateral level.