Kigali, 6 March 2015
President Kagame and President Museveni this evening attended the first Ntare School reunion to be held in Rwanda.
President Kagame attended Ntare School for four years starting in 1972 from the age of 15 to 19 while President Museveni time at Ntare School started in 1962 ending in 1966.
Hosting the dinner aimed at fundraising for the establishment of Ntare School in Rwanda, President Kagame emphasized the role of the school in providing all students home:
“Some of us were brought up in this school and the school provided us with another home away from refugee camps. The opportunity to gain an education in this environment that was life changing.”
“The institutional culture and values of Ntare is worth replicating here in Rwanda,” President Kagame added.
President Kagame highlighted the importance of the network being built among the Old Boys of Ntare School:
“It is important that this network be maintained and remain forward looking. It mirrors and reinforces the spirit of integration we are developing in East Africa.”
“Our greatest responsibility as OBs today, is to transmit this legacy of values to the next generations,” President Kagame added.
President Museveni explained the significance of Ntare School as the first secular school that did not require its student to belong to any religion. President Museveni added that Ntare School instilled skills that allowed many of its students to succeed:
“Ntare School gave training that allowed its students to rise above the turmoil that was in Uganda at the time.”
President Museveni concluded by pledging two hundred thousand dollars and added that he was inspired to do something big to Ntare School in Uganda as well.
President Kagame contributed 100 million RWF to the school and pledged to speed up the construction of the school:
“We will do everything in our power to have the school up and running as fast as possible.”