Youth across the country are today expected to participate in special community work, Umuganda, to focus on building kitchen gardens as part of efforts to help fight malnutrition in rural areas.

The event is one of the recommendations from previous civic education (Itorero) for youth leaders from across the country.

The youth leaders whose performance contracts were aligned with national pillars of economy, social and good governance agreed to organise special Umuganda on quarterly basis.

"The launch of special community service will focus on building kitchen gardens to help Rwandans overcome the problems caused by malnutrition,” the coordinator of the National Youth Council, Norbert Shyerezo, said at a news briefing in Kigali.

The youth have committed to offer their efforts through voluntary work.

The community work was organised by the National Youth Council in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and ICT, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion and all districts.

The Executive Secretary of National Youth Council, Robert Mwesigwa, urged youth to behave responsibly.

The gvernment is investing a lot in educating the youth and nurturing them into responsible, productive and innovative citizens, he said.

"A lot of effort has been put in helping the youth to grow with positive attitudes and we hope you will make use of the opportunity,” Mwesigwa said,

The youth (aged 14-35) constitute about 40 per cent of the total population in the country, with 78.7 per cent under 35 years of age.