The community work was launched on Saturday, June 4, in Tomping, capital Juba by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Guang Cong, to mark the World Environmental Day.
Rwandan Police peacekeepers joined the DSRSG and other troops to launch the community works.
In his speech, Mr. Cong said that Umuganda Day is a “Rwandan tradition of coming together for a common purpose to carry out community work.”
He urged the peacekeepers to embrace and use such initiatives that build peaceful coexistence.
Umuganda, loosely translated as “coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome,” is a Rwandan homegrown initiative to contribute to the national development agenda.
Normally, Umuganda in Rwanda is conducted every last Saturday of the month where communities come together to undertake sanitation and hygiene activities in their localities and to discuss measures against local challenges.
It largely contributes to two dimensions; socio-economic evolution of the community through infrastructure development, environmental protection, hygiene and cleanliness as well as implementation of national development programmes.
Through community meetings in this framework, village members discuss specific challenges affecting them and come up with solutions, share information and foster social cohesion and peace building.
Leave a Reply