Umuganda


 

Saturday morning.

It is a bit cloudy and cooler than yesterday. Ideal to work in the garden before the sun burns too hard. I hear some birds whistling in the bushes. Nothing else.

Not the sound of the heavy traffic on the connecting road across the valley. Not the voice of the woman who passes by in the street, loudly praising her goods which she carries in a basket on her head. No children playing. I hear no snatches of the gliding exercises with which the choir of a church a little lower on this hill warms up the voices. No drums or percussion either. It is silent.

It is the last Saturday of the month. It is umuganda.

Umuganda refers to community work that contributes to the development of Rwanda. Every last Saturday of the month, economic life falls silent from 7:00 to 11:00. During this time, everyone has to work in their community: cleaning, helping to build a school, constructing terraces, fighting erosion, you name it. The system has existed since the last century, when everyone was asked to contribute to the community every week. After the genocide, it became one of the strategies to rebuild Rwanda and to get communities working together again. It is not only about working together, but it also provides an opportunity for local leaders to provide information to residents.

Umuganda is compulsory. But not for foreigners, although they are welcome to participate. If we don’t, we are expected to stay at home.

And that is what I do. Time to take care of my garden, while listening to a great podcast which takes me all the way to Ghent.

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