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RWANDA: US’S FIRST LADY DONATES 20,000 TEXT BOOKS TO SCHOOLS January 30, 2006
Apunyu Bonny
(SomaliNet) A total of 48 secondary schools in Rwanda have received 20, 000 textbooks from The United States First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush. The US Ambassador to Rwanda, Michael R. Arietti, represented Mrs. Bush during the handover ceremony held at the Foundation for African Women Educationists (FAWE) Girls School.
Arietti, during the ceremony held on January 27th said, the US government managed to work closely with FAWE-Rwanda, by donating books and supporting the girl-child education. Mrs. Bush had promised the donation on July 14, 2005, during her last visit to Rwanda.
“You girls here should know that the future is in your hands; it is your responsibility to avoid anything that may drive you away from obtaining a bright future,†Arietti said, He also urged heads of schools and teachers to help the girls to attain goals in education and overcome any hindrance to education like early marriages.
“You are the right people to support these children to achieve a better future,†Arriet said.
Rwanda’s coordinator for FAWE Rwanda, Mediatrice Mutanguha, while receiving the books estimated to be worth tens of millions of francs, appreciated the gesture and later outlined FAWE’s achievements under the support from the US government:
“1500 needy girls in our country are now benefiting from the US sponsored AGSP and other essential projects that promote needy girls in the country are being sponsored by the US government as well,†Madame Mutanguha observed. She described Mrs. Bush’s recent visit to Rwanda as historic.
“It is not only the FAWE Girls School that is going to benefit from the donations, but the whole country and particularly poor schools.â€
The headmaster of FAWE Girls School, Joseph Rwagatare, while addressing guests at the ceremony thanked the US government for contributing to Rwanda’s development. He said in an exclusive interview that the books donated are mainly for science.
“We strongly believe that these books will improve on the performance of the school, as well as promote science and technology,†Rwagatare said.
The handover ceremony was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education, USAID, FAWE Rwanda, various Head teachers, teachers and students.