Banro Foundation inaugurates community offices at Twangiza, Lugushwa and Namoya
October 15 2007 - 4:58PM
PR Newswire (US)
BUKAVU, DR CONGO, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Banro
Foundation, an initiative of Banro Corporation (TSX: BAA, AMEX:
BAA) today officially opened its new community office in Twangiza,
and will be inaugurating new community offices on October 16 and 17
in Lugushwa and Namoya. The community offices, each staffed by a
local Banro Foundation secretary, will be administrative centres
for the work of the Banro Foundation in promoting social and
economic development. Among the honoured guests at the today's
opening ceremony were the Governor of South Kivu province,
provincial cabinet ministers, members of the provincial parliament,
and officials of the Roman Catholic Church and local Protestant
Churches. The local Banro Foundation committee in each location,
which is comprised of leading members of the community and
representation from Banro Corporation, were also among the special
guests. The Banro Foundation committees identify and recommend
community projects for funding by the Banro Foundation and help
oversee the development of such projects. Desire Sangara,
Vice-President of Government Relations for Banro Corporation, said
at the opening: "We are thrilled to mark this major milestone in
the evolution of the Banro Foundation. While the Banro Foundation
has to date completed a number of projects, we view today's opening
as the beginning of a vigorous effort to ensure that the
communities near Banro's operations benefit from the development of
the region's mineral deposits." ABOUT THE BANRO FOUNDATION The
Banro Foundation is a registered charity in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo with a mandate to support education, health and
infrastructure improvements, as well as provide humanitarian
assistance as needed. The Banro Foundation is funded by Banro
Corporation. A number of guiding principles steer the work of the
Banro Foundation. The Foundation focuses on needs identified by the
local communities and invests in improvements that benefit
communities as a whole. Whenever possible, the Foundation employs
local labour in its initiatives. A number of new community
initiatives are being launched as part of the inauguration
ceremonies: New projects at Lugushwa include construction of a new
medical clinic and the building of a Women's Centre to be used for
the teaching of sewing and other skills. Rehabilitation of the
Lugushwa-Tukenga road is also planned. At Namoya, new projects
include rehabilitation of the local medical clinic and construction
of the Sarambila Institute secondary school. Projects proposed by
the local Banro Foundation committee at Twangiza include the supply
of potable water to the community, construction of three new
schools and provision of stationary supplies to local schools. The
Banro Foundation has to date completed several social development
projects. Most recently, the Foundation built the Ntiaso bridge and
put in place the supply of potable water to a village in Lugushwa.
It is also in the process of completing construction of the Kadubo
bridge. Meanwhile, local residents in Namoya are finishing repairs
to the Roman Catholic Church with building materials supplied by
the Banro Foundation. The Foundation also provides writing supplies
and desks, built by local carpenters, to primary schools. In the
area of health care, it has focused on infrastructure development
and distributes beds, blankets, and mosquito netting to medical
clinics. Construction of roads and bridges is also an ongoing
priority. ABOUT BANRO CORPORATION Banro is a Canadian-based gold
exploration company focused on the development of four major,
wholly-owned gold projects along the 210 kilometre-long
Twangiza-Namoya gold belt in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Led by a proven
management team with extensive gold and African experience, Banro's
strategy is to unlock shareholder value by increasing and
developing its significant gold assets in a socially and
environmentally responsible manner. DATASOURCE: Banro Corporation
CONTACT: please visit our website at http://www.banro.com/, or
contact: Simon Village, Chairman, United Kingdom, Tel: (44)
870-351-7904; Arnold T. Kondrat, Executive Vice-President, Toronto,
Ontario; or Martin Jones, Vice-President, Corporate Development,
Toronto, Ontario, Tel: (416) 366-2221 or 1-800-714-7938
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