Giving back to the community

The National University of Rwanda (NUR)’s recent involvement in rehabilitating roads and houses for the poor people in Huye District demonstrates how organisations can contribute to the improvement of the society in which they operate. During the week-long community service, NUR also sensitised the public against HIV/Aids, drug abuse and gender based violence and trained residents on cooperative management. The university has promised to carryout similar activities on a weekly basis.This is part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where corporations are required to integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.Whilst there is an increase in CSR activities of late, few corporations in the country understand the relevance of such activities. Thus, most of them deploy CSR activities as a tool to bolster their public relations. Yet, the essence of CSR is to give back.Such activities should not be avenue for self-promotion.On the other hand, government must come up with a national law on CSR. As a result, corporations would be obliged to carry out CRS activities. We pay for the goods and services they (companies) provide, thus giving back a fraction of their profit to society is a moral obligation.

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Giving back to the community