Members of Rotaract Club from Rwanda and Uganda have urged the youth to invest their efforts in green growth promotion in their cities.

They made the remarks Saturday during community work in Nyarugenge sector in Kigali city.

They planted 1,000 trees along the newly completed neighborhood road in Agatare and Biryogo cells.

Rotaract club is composed of youth aged between 18 and 30 years and is part of Rotary Club.

The clubs focus on projects in education, water, sanitation, environmental protection, maternal and child health and economic empowerment.

"Youth from Uganda wanted to collaborate with Rwandan youth in Rotaract club to promote green growth in cities. That is why we preferred to provide our contribution to Kigali green project by planting trees along the road. People are cutting down trees; with threats of global warming, the entire world should go green,” said Henry Busingye, the vice president of Rotaract club of Kajjansi in Uganda who led a delegation of 13 representing four Rotaract clubs.

He said that planting trees is an inspiration and next time green growth would be their theme, where they will participate in various green projects in Uganda.

He noted that the clubs from both countries share experiences about different projects.

Aaron Butera, the president of the Rotaract Club of University of Rwanda, College of Business and Economics, called on more youth to join the clubs to offer their services to the community.

"Youth committing to such voluntary services is still a challenge. They must understand that any kind of support can help address social problems in communities,” he said.

Charles Havuguziga, the Executive Secretary of Nyarugege sector, said the area has some high-risk zones and therefore the trees will protect against flooding, strong winds and erosion while providing fresh air and mitigating carbon emissions at the same time.

He explained that the planted tree species were suitable for the city as they don’t overgrow to affect infrastructure such as houses, roads and power lines.

Government has embarked on formulating a policy to complement Kigali City Master plan and the national green-growth agenda whereby property developers have to plan for urban afforestation, while putting into consideration specific species of trees to grow in cities and towns.

There are seven Rotary Clubs (RC) in Rwanda that include RC Musanze, RC Butare, RC Kibungo, RC Kigali-Gasabo, RC Kigali-Mont Jali, RC Kigali-Virunga and RC Kigali-Doyen.

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