More than 500 Adventist business professionals raised approximately $50,000 (USD) to help fund the construction of the East-Central Africa Division (ECD) Medical School in Kigali, Rwanda in order to address the nation’s tremendous need for expanded health services. The fundraising event took place May 15 on the campus of the Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA).

According to Church leaders, there is one doctor for every 17,000 people in Africa’s east-central region. Through the medical school, the Adventist Church will equip future doctors and medical professionals to be able to help the countless individuals who lack access to quality health care. 

Completing the school, which is slated to be the denomination’s seventh medical school, will consist of a four-phase project. Phase one, which is expected to be completed by September 2017, includes constructing student residences, a state-of-the-art science lab, a teaching hospital, cafeteria and a housing complex for guests.

The Adventist Church also operates medical schools at Adventist universities in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico; Liberator San Martín, Entre Rios, Argentina; Ñaña, Lima, Peru; Silang, Cavite, Philippines; and its flagship school in Loma Linda, California, United States.

The fundraiser took place three days after Ted Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, laid the foundational stone.

The fundraising event was a collaborative effort between the East-Central Africa Division and the education department of the Seventh-day Adventist world church. Keynote speakers included education director for the Adventist Church, Lisa Beardsley-Hardy; Adventist architect and philanthropist Zuki Mxoli; education director for the East-Central Africa Division, Andrew Mutero; and president of the Adventist Church’s East-Central Africa Division, Blasious Ruguri. 

For more information on the ECD Medical School, visit the official website of the East-Central Africa Division at ecdadventist.org