Mandatory community cleaning of public spaces and cooperatives of women help keep the rubbish off Kigali's street, earning it the title of Africa's cleanest city.
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00:00Common prejudices about big African cities are, they are loud, overcrowded and above all, they are drowning in filth.
00:09Is that true? And how has Kigali, the Rwandan capital, established itself as the cleanest city in Africa?
00:21I wake up at 4 am and come here always. I start my work by 6.
00:28My name is Niramai Amberazahara. I work as a cleaner in the city of Kigali.
00:35Kigali is very clean. All is good. I'm very proud of it.
00:42The collective effort to maintain cleanliness in Kigali has a significant socio-economic dimension.
00:48All these women on different streets are grouped into private cooperatives.
00:53This may help Kigali's reputation as the cleanest city in Africa,
00:57but does it also help the cleaners getting a stable income to support their families?
01:07Having this job gives me credibility. As a worker I can borrow some money.
01:13People trust me. They can lend me money so that I feed my kids and I pay them back when I am paid.
01:21After the genocide of the Tutsis in 1994, the Rwandan government,
01:26in an effort to rebuild the country from the ground up,
01:29took various measures to ensure not only the cleanliness of the city but also environmental protection.
01:36Was it worth banning plastic bags and educating citizens about the need for cleanliness?
01:43Yes, it has helped very much.
01:46Before, citizens didn't understand why they would pay anyone to take care of their garbage.
01:52They believed that instead of paying for cleaning service,
01:55they would simply take the garbage out of their houses and dump them in the trenches, on streets.
02:06Unlikely as it may seem when observing many African cities, Kigali stands apart in cleanliness.
02:13Many cities on the continent grapple with waste management challenges.
02:17How has Rwanda's capital distinguished itself,
02:20setting a benchmark in urban cleanliness that few have met until today?
02:28Umuganda has played a huge role in cleaning Kigali city in more depth.
02:33This is one of the major benefits of Umuganda.
02:37Can you imagine a day when the people collectively come together
02:40to take care of the cleanliness of public spaces for the common good?
02:44Well, in Rwanda such a day exists. It's Umuganda Day.
02:48The last Saturday of each month, the nation pauses for three hours.
02:53Shops shut down.
02:55Police oversee the closure of roads.
02:58And personal business gives way to communal duty.
03:07We do Umuganda to clean up our neighborhoods.
03:10Also, getting rid of the bushes helps us fighting against the mosquitoes that spread malaria.
03:16And also, it makes our homes look smart.
03:25But Umuganda is about more than cleaning.
03:28It's about solidarity and community.
03:31The project has brought the residents together,
03:33and they are now discussing their problems and setting common goals.
03:40I hope you all know the importance of trees.
03:42They provide oxygen.
03:44Without them we won't have air quality.
03:46Therefore, we need to protect them and plant more even.
03:50Is that clear?
03:55Kigali's rise to become the cleanest city in the world
03:59Kigali's rise to become the cleanest city in Africa is no coincidence.
04:03It is the result of a joint and continuous effort by the communities.
04:11Government policies, such as the ban on plastic bags, provide the legal framework.
04:17While citizen engagement, embodied by the spirit of Umuganda, brings these policies to life.
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