Youth from different African countries have started a new campaign dubbed ‘Umuganda Africa’ that aims at uniting African youth.

Umuganda Africa is a brain child of  the founders of  International Hope Week Organisation (IHW), including Michaella Rugwizangoga from Rwanda, Hawa Dème (Mali) and Baba Deme (Senegal).

 The campaign aims at sharing and spreading African best practices across the continent.

"Rwanda’s best practices are an inspiration to the rest of the continent. The Rwandan Umuganda goes beyond cleanliness and hygiene. It is about dignity. Rwanda has moved its people in the right direction, It is now time for other African countries to follow suit. We believe initiatives such as Umuganda have the power to change people’s minds and perceptions,” Rugwizangoga said.

She added that the public has been positive and enthusiastic in cities like Bamako (Mali), Dakar (Senegal) and Conakry (Guinea) where the  Umuganda concept has been tried.

Rugwizangoga said: "We first targeted the three countries and we plan to roll out the programme to other countries.”

The target is to cover 15 African countries by the end of the year. 

"We hope that in the long run,  Umuganda will become policy in those countries,” Rugwizangoga said.

She pointed out that the plan is not only about cleaning but also helping transform the African continent.

"The spirit behind Umuganda Africa is a unified progress of our continent, progress in people’s mind and progress in people’s living standard,” she said.