A British firm, De la Rue, through a local charity Rwanda Aid, has financed the construction of a classroom block at Isha Primary School in Rusizi District for an unspecified amount of money. The five classroom block, dubbed “Thomas de la Rue Building” was recently launched by Kevin Freeguard, the Managing Director, De La Rue Group of companies. Freeguard said he was privileged to attend the inauguration of the building, where he met some parents, pupils and teaching staff, noting that this enabled him to see the positive impact of their funding which has ‘provided a lasting footprint within the country”.“De La Rue continues to strengthen its relationship with Rwanda with a long-term commitment to sustainable and locally driven projects.” De La Rue Group of companies is said to be the world’s largest integrated commercial security printer and papermaker and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The firm announced its support of local charity Rwanda Aid last year, by providing funds to build the new classrooms.The Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Aid, David Chaplin, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to have worked with De La Rue on this exciting project” .According to a statement, the new structures would provide a clean, safe and modern learning environment for 870 pupils at the school. De La Rue has been printing the country’s passports, identity cards, driving licences as well as maintaining support systems. It is also currently working on the introduction of an integrated eID card for the government, the latest phase of the Rwandan National ID project.
