Rwanda National Police (RNP donated 110 solar power systems to connect households for the disadvantaged families in Rutagara Village, Mudende Cell, Shingiro Sector of Musanze District.
The donation of part of the annual RNP community outreach activities to mark the force’s anniversary dubbed “Police Month.”
RNP was created on June 16, 2000 with the merger of three institutions that had the policing mandate at the time. The merged entities were Gendarmerie Nationale then under the Ministry of Defence, Communal Police in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Judicial Police under the Ministry of Justice at the time.
“The annual Police Month is dedicated to community development activities targeting mainly the disadvantaged vulnerable groups, it is the same context that 110 households of Rutagara Village were today lit with solar energy,” said.
Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Alex Ndayisenga, the District Political and Civic Education Officer (DPCEO) for Musanze, said.
The connected houses are those that are far from the national grid. “Connecting houses with solar energy is meant to fight use of candles, which emit gas, provide security lights at night to prevent theft committed in the dark,” said CIP Ndayisenga.
One of the beneficiaries, Jean De Dieu Hakizimana thanked RNP for reaching out to them.
“We were using candle at night, which was a security concern because they can torch the house at any time. We were also facing the issue of light security at night, walking distances to charge phones but also children were not performing well at school because they were not revising at night,” said Hakizimana.
“These are rewards of good governance where police goes beyond just security to ensure the overall wellbeing of the people.”
Damascene Munyentwari, the Executive Secretary for Shingiro sector, commended RNP for the support and urged the beneficiaries to handle the solar systems well.
About seven villages in the Northern Province will be lit with solar power system as part of the Police Month.
Early this week, Police connected other 55 households with solar power system in Gicumbi District.(End)