US Embassy renovates school

MASAKA - The American Embassy in Kigali yesterday officially handed over Masaka Secondary School in Kicukiro District, to the local community. The school was upgraded with a 250–seater dining hall, a teachers’ lounge, 12-stall latrine, and a sports complex.

Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Charge du2019 Affairs of the US Embassy, Anne Casper and Kicukiro Mayor, Jules Ndamage, inspecting the scholastic materials as Capt. Scott Vasina looks on (Photo: F. Goodman)

MASAKA - The American Embassy in Kigali yesterday officially handed over Masaka Secondary School in Kicukiro District, to the local community.

The school was upgraded with a 250–seater dining hall, a teachers’ lounge, 12-stall latrine, and a sports complex.

According to the embassy officials, the project is an example of US’s commitment to helping the people of Rwanda improve their capacity in providing quality education to their communities, according to embassy officials.

The school was originally built by the U.S Department of Defence Humanitarian Assistance Programme in 2003.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Charge d’ Affairs at the American Embassy, Anne Casper, underscored the importance of the school.

"The school will be instrumental in developing and moulding future leaders of the country.”

Casper acknowledged Rwanda’s zeal to promote education and said that this is mainly rooted in various Kinyarwanda proverbs which show the importance of searching for knowledge.

Masaka Secondary School is an O’level school with a population of 535 students, 282 of them female.
In his speech, Kicukiro Mayor Paul Jules Ndamage thanked the US government for supporting the Rwandan education system.

"This support has come at a time when the government has embarked on a drive to strengthen the education sector,” said Ndamage, giving an example of the Education for All policy the government has launched.

According to the American Embassy, renovating the school cost $156, 000 (Approximately Rwf91 million).

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