How to copy Rwanda’s Umuganda cleaning exercise

IN A week when US intelligence allegedly tapped a phone call between top Al Qaeda officials and then decided to shut down 22 of its embassies, including Kigali and Bujumbura, the real big story was in Nairobi at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The live footage that was being aired by NTV Uganda through its sister station, NTV Kenya, was quite shocking. Although no causalities were reported, the damage and disruption was enormous. There are clear lessons to learn from this incident as well as humility concerning our reality. Kenya is known for its huge economy, ICT breakthroughs like Mpesa (Mobile Money), but a fire proved that we are still poor at basics. The sight of army officers with guns and then buckets to fight a fire was quite telling. I had not set out to write about that fire so I will get back to what appears in my scrap book. There is thing called Umuganda in Rwanda that other East Africans seem to have failed to understand no matter how many times they may visit this place. On Monday August 5, Kenya’s Daily Nation ran a letter from a reader called Edward Simiyu who was shocked that Nairobi County’s governor Dr. Evans Kidero had the guts to propose a ‘Rwanda-style’ monthly cleaning exercise for Nairobi residents who pay taxes to the city council. Simiyu generally argues that the Rwanda ‘thing’ cannot work in Nairobi. Surprisingly, I also agree that the cleaning exercise proposed by Kidero cannot work in Nairobi just like the Kampala version of ‘City Yange’ also failed to have any impact. Towards the end of 2011, a group of enterprising fellows came up with what they called, “Kampala City Yange”, which means Kampala, my city, an initiative that would see residents of Kampala cleaning the city once in an a month. The City Yange initiative was packaged in a way that would shock even the residents of Kigali. It was first of all sponsored by Warid Telecom and the launch was graced by Kampala City Council Authority executive director Ms Jennifer Musisi. What surprised me was that the City Yange fellows had branded T-Shirts, gloves, face masks and all the media coverage. It other words, it was another Kampala social event to be seen at. And the proposal by the Nairobi governor was a non-starter, according to me. It is true that many people come here and admire the cleanliness of Kigali and quickly link it to the Umuganda exercise. However, when they try to do the same back home, they get it all wrong. You cannot sell a simple idea by complicating it. The idea of Umuganda in Kigali and Rwanda in general is not something driven from the top by city authorities. It is a community initiative and not a corporate event like City Yange. The mornings of the last Saturdays of the month are spared for this general cleaning and this is how it is done. People wake up, grab any garden tool that maybe useful such as a hoe, spade or a machete, and then go ahead to clear bushes and drainages and repair feeder roads. The most pressing area is the one that members of a community work on first. If there were heavy rains that clogged the drainages with silt then that is where the work is done. If there is a road that has developed gullies they are filled with stones and soils. If there is a bush that needs clearing it is done. At the end of the exercise, a small meeting is held where people discuss any community problems they are facing as a community and also use this opportunity to get to know each other better. During the time of the cleaning none essential establishments are closed until noon. The nearby clinic will be open in case someone is sick but the bar next door will not be offering cold beers until work is done. Charity begins at home and we need to join hands and clean our environs before we think of having a clean city. It is a national psyche that has to be nurtured from the bottom not from the top. It is not for elites or celebrities. It is for everyone. It is not an event for wearing T-shirts and gloves. It is a time to get dirty and be proud of it. We should also keep in mind the fact that the exercise is a national exercise that happens all over Rwanda, not just in Kigali. So, it should not simply be a Kampala or Nairobi affair. Blog: www.ssenyonga.wordpress.com Twitter: @ssojo81