Student from the University of Kigali Debating Club last Saturday visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Gisozi where they took part communal work (umuganda) aimed at keeping the environment clean.

Teaming up with the residents of the area, the students mainly did work involving slashing the bushy areas around the site.

Kismathy Uwamwiza, the president of the club, said that the act was aimed at taking care of the environment in which they live.

"We are youth and have energy which we want to use positively. We cannot just study; we should do something to help our country,” she said.

Uwamwiza added that they chose the memorial site because it is a place where victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were buried.

"We want to sustain it and help keep it in a good condition,” she said. Gisozi Memorial site hosts remains of 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide.

Languide Nyirabahire, the vice mayor of in charge of social affairs in Gasabo District, said the action shows that young people understand the importance of their country.

"With the youth engaging in building the nation, the future is bright. It means that they are growing up with a heart of loving the country and they will teach the others,” she said.

Jean Pierre Habarurema, a resident of Gisozi, welcomed the gesture, saying it shows support for the national initiatives of promoting cleanliness in the country.