The UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair was awarded for Voluntariado de Cooperación Internacional y Comunitario 2017 (International and Community Cooperation Volunteerism 2017) during the second edition of the Volunteer Awards, which is organized by the Plataforma del Voluntariat de la Comunitat Valenciana (PVCV). This chair was honored for its coordination efforts and the activities it has undertaken since 2011.

This acknowledgement aims to publicly place value and recognize selfless actions by persons and entities that carry out tasks related to volunteerism within or based out of the Valencian Community. The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday, December 13 in the Alfons el Magnànim Events Room at the La Beneficència Cultural Center in Valencia. In attendance to accept the award were Mariano Pérez Arroyo, director of the UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair, and Juan José Ballesta, the chair’s co-director and UMH Development Cooperation and Volunteerism Area Director.

UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair director receiving the award from the PVCV.

Since the UMH volunteer program in Rwanda began, 128 volunteers have taken part by carrying out numerous projects and tasks that include, among others, teaching and socio-sanitary services in the Nemba schools and hospital. These two institutions are the primary action areas for the UMH Cooperation Program in Rwanda, which has been operating there since 2004.