Umuganda: Working towards reconciliation, healing

Today, the last Saturday of the month, Rwandans are once again engrossed and working as hard as ever in their respective communities. The community work locally known as Umuganda, is something that most Rwandans are proud to be a part of. For the last four years a policy that was introduced by the government called for all people in their respective villages called ‘Mudugudu’ to come together in unity as they partake in the general cleaning of their neighbourhood. For many this has been extremely helpful in the process of reconciliation and healing as they deal with issues that directly affect them. Especially after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, many homes were not ready to open up to those who were not family, given the fact that thousands of neighbours betrayed one another.