Female city cleaners; the unsung heroes

Over the years, the City of Kigali has reveled in the enviable reputation of “clean city”; a tag that is hard to put on many developing countries. One of the reasons behind this success is the government’s ban on plastic packaging materials. The other is the government initiated monthly community service Umuganda, where ordinary Rwandans and leaders alike take time off every last Saturday of the month to undertake different community based projects geared at keeping the nation clean. The third and probably least highlighted link in this chain is the large army of female cleaners who actually ensure that whatever little garbage makes it to the streets and public spaces is gotten rid of immediately. These are the unsung heroes behind the country’s hard-earned reputation of cleanliness, the members of our community, who very few people hardly ever recognise. Maria Mukansanga is one such unsung hero who boasts five years of experience as a cleaner for the Kigali city. Like most of her fellow cleaners, she is affiliated to a cooperative, the Ikondera Cleaning Cooperative. Mukansanga expresses passion for her work from which she derives immense satisfaction. She explains that her brief is basically to keep the city not only clean, but also green. Mukansanga is quick to point out that things have not always been this way. Kigali is known for green, well-manicured lawns, thanks in part to the women who clean the citys public places. Mukansanga, however, says that as recently as five years ago, the situation was a far cry from what we see today. “Five years ago, the cleanliness in the city wasn’t very impressive. People used to throw garbage along the roads and even those in charge of the general cleaning weren’t as passionate and dedicated as those of today,” she explains. Mukansanga confesses that ever since she got hold of a broom to contribute to the city’s beauty, she has literally enjoyed every minute of her demanding job. “I take great pleasure in doing this job of making the city clean and green, it makes me confident that, just like other patriotic citizens, I’m contributing something to the development of my country,” she says They say they draw satisfaction from Kigali’s new reputation of a clean, green city. For Théodosia Vuganeza, there is nothing more fulfilling than the compliments that Rwanda receives as a nation and Rwandans as a people for the cleanliness record. “When foreign people come to this city and later return to their countries exclaiming about our city’s cleanliness, that itself motivates me to keep doing my work even better. The sky is the limit,” adds Vuganeza. She takes any international praise heaped on the country as a direct compliment to her and her colleagues, on whose shoulders the responsibility squarely lies. Even with all the glowing praises, however, there is still room for further improvement, according to Aline Iragena, a cleaner based in Gasabo District. “We have come too far but improvements and more efforts in beautifying the city are still needed. So I urge my colleagues to swallow the pride and take an extra walk towards making the city cleaner,” Iragena says. By urging fellow women to “swallow their pride”, she seems to be alluding to the fact that there is not a lot of money to be made from this otherwise noble job. For her part, she has been able to cope with this low pay by regarding the job as a duty to the nation. One of the ladies at work earlier this week. (All Photos by Dennis Agaba) According to the Mayor of the City of Kigali, Fidèle Ndayisaba, much as efforts to keep Kigali clean and green are paying off, there is no room for complacency in attaining even higher standards in hygiene and sanitation. “We shall continue investing our efforts in building the infrastructure, overhauling those that are substandard, and polishing those that are good to make them the best and attain international standards,” Mayor Ndayisaba said. He added that to instill the values of cleanliness and hygiene, awareness campaigns have to be taken to primary schools. “Our children have to grow respecting the culture of cleanliness and as we tread the path of restoration of dignity, cleanliness is a high value principle that must be emphasised,” he reckons. “We should all understand that cleanliness is a virtue that benefits all; the residents, the visitors, the business community and investors. Just as President Kagame has often reiterated; we do not need any aid to keep our backyards clean’; we should all be inspired by that philosophy and continue minding about cleanliness right from the heart,” Ndayisaba added. editorial@newtimes.co.rw ********************** What can be done to improve on the cleanliness in City of Kigali? Dornel Ngabirano Michou Dornel Ngabirano Michou When I think about Kigali’s cleanliness, it makes me so proud of my country and it gives me the courage and strength to encourage my fellow countrymen to follow the lead even in their homes. I have met with different foreign guests in Rwanda, when they are coming here they think that Rwanda or Kigali is still in the same situation it used to be, ravaged by war and littered with debris. When they arrive in Rwanda, they discover something new –something that they didn’t have in mind. One thing we can do as Rwandans to improve our country and our city is to work hard and make cleanliness a permanent feature that defines us. Evode Mwemezi Evode Mwemezi People have taken cleanliness as a habit in Rwanda. They know that they must be clean, everyday, not to take out their garbage everywhere, because they know that is giving work to other people. We need to keep mobilising people outside Kigali so they can learn from the city’s experience. We don’t have to talk only about Kigali as a clean city, but the whole country should be at same level. People don’t have to observe cleanliness because they have been told to do so. They have to do it out of habit. Steven Kamatari Steven Kamatari I think the cleanliness in Kigali is somehow sufficient. What we can do is to put a little more effort to make the city even cleaner because there is always room for improvement. It would be a good idea to recruit more cleaners to supplement the ones we already have. Those women are doing a good job but which is also difficult because Kigali is a city with many people moving up and down, and yet there is no security to stop people from dumping rubbish anywhere. The responsible authorities should also consider restricting the mushrooming street-side businesses because these contribute a lot to the litter in the city. We also need more garbage bins on the streets and they should be emptied in time. Nicole Ansoni Nicole Ansoni Having travelled extensively around the world and, most importantly, throughout Africa, I can say, without an ounce of doubt, that Rwanda is one of the cleanest countries I have ever seen. The streets of Kigali are cleaner than New York or London or JohannesburgWhat is most inspiring about this clean and green revolution Rwanda has embarked on, is the will and determination of the population to embrace this new way of life. Rwandans now, for example, don’t litter. The Rwandan government set a challenge for Rwandans and, so far, they have met that challenge. Of course the question is how Rwanda can be greener and cleaner. I would say a great start would be re-usable energy. We are making significant strides in incorporating solar and hydro renewable energies. However, the ideal would be to have greater usage of those. Furthermore, there is need to look into environmentally friendly construction materials and having legislation forbidding the use of materials that are not green etc. The next step is a greener Rwanda where there is less carbon emission and a campaign towards reducing our carbon footprint. Those are hard challenges and goals to meet, but having awareness about the environment is the future for Rwandans. Compiled by Moses Opobo

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Female city cleaners; the unsung heroes