Umuganda: the Saturday morning Rwanda works together
On the last Saturday of each month, Rwandans spend three hours on community work. The tradition helped rebuild the country.
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Kigali — On the last Saturday of every month, from 8am to 11am, Rwanda pauses. Across the country, people come together for Umuganda, a morning of community service, from cleaning streets to repairing roads.
"Coming together in common purpose"
In Kinyarwanda, umuganda means coming together in common purpose. Before colonial rule, communities worked together this way to help people who could not do heavy work themselves, to farm and build, and to trade goods such as oxen. During colonial times and in the 1970s, the idea was distorted into forced labour.
Rebuilding after the genocide
After the 1994 genocide, as part of Rwanda's reconstruction, President Paul Kagame declared the last Saturday of each month a day of community contribution. Traffic was stopped for three hours so that Rwandans could clean up their war-damaged capital. The practice was part of a wider policy of reconciliation.
Umuganda in its present form was set up in 2009 and is now required by law, with a fine for those who do not take part. Tasks have included building schools, repairing roads, building bridges and digging ditches against erosion. Other, informal Umuganda activities also take place mid-month.
A cleaner country
Today Umuganda is seen above all as a day of community clean-up, and it is credited with a marked improvement in the cleanliness of Rwanda.
Background: Wikipedia.
