Mariano Pérez Arroyo, director of the UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair, has been recognized by the Napardi Charitable Foundation by being awarded its 2018 Humanitarian Award for his efforts in Rwanda. A neurophysiologist and former UMH faculty member, Mariano Pérez Arroyo has been involved with development cooperation efforts in Rwanda since 1994. This prize was awarded in November 2018 at the Napardi Gastronomic Society.

The Napardi Foundation has collaborated by funding various UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair projects; its support was vital for the construction of the Nemba lunchroom, a facility that now feeds 700 children every day of the year at the Nemba School. The foundation also collaborates in the fight against epilepsy, a disease that is highly prevalent in Rwanda.

This funding is received and managed by the UMH Headquarters in Rwanda Chair, an entity created in 2016 by the Miguel Hernández University of Elche to carry out development cooperation actions in that African country. The university focuses its assistance on areas of health, research, and education through training, the construction or renovation of infrastructure, as well as by providing teaching and health support. 

Even though the formal creation of this chair occurred relatively recently, the Miguel Hernández University of Elche has been present in Rwanda since the educational institution’s early beginnings. The then-psychology professor, Mariano Pérez Arroyo, now chair director, has led several projects financed by the UMH, the first of which was the renovation of the Musanze nursing school.