An elementary school built by South Korea opened in Rwanda last week, ready to provide education to hundreds of young students, a state-run institute here said Tuesday.

A ceremony was held on March 10 to celebrate the opening of the Wimana Elementary School in the city of Kamonyi, the Korea International Cooperation Agency said in a press release.

KOICA helped build the school together with KT Corp., South Korea’s biggest fixed-line telephone and broadband Internet operator.

“We are so grateful to the South Korean government for providing the children of the Musambira region with the chance to receive proper elementary school education,” Uwera Alice, the vice mayor of Kamoyi was quoted as saying during the ceremony.

Before the opening of Wimana, students in Musambira had to walk some 10 kilometers through dangerous mountains to attend schools in other regions, according to KOICA.

Streetlights and roads leading to the school were also built for the safety of the children, it said.

Last week’s ceremony was also attended by Kim Sang-chul, head of the KOICA Rwanda bureau, Song Ho-chan, representing KT, Uwera and Bienvenue, head of education in the Musambira region. Some 300 students, parents and other related officials also attended, KOICA said.

By Shin Hae-in (hayney@heraldcorp.com)