Last Saturday saw Rwandans across the country carry out the first Umuganda of 2019. The monthly community work day has become an integral part of the country’s fabric, significantly contributing toward socioeconomic development for more than a decade now.

Through Umuganda, communities around Rwanda have joined hands to support the most vulnerable amongst them, including constructing homes for them, building classrooms, clearing waterways, among others.

But some communities have also pooled resources together to build roads and other infrastructures in their neighbourhoods, with support from the Government.

And that’s exactly what the residents of Kavumu Village in Nyarugunga Sector of Kicukiro District are doing.

It was announced during Saturday’s Umuganda that residents in the area had already mobilised some Rwf145 million toward construction of a 1.7-km road asphalt road in the neighbourhood.

That’s what self-reliance is about.

We should not sit back and wait for someone else to come fix our problems. While such assistance is welcome residents should always be at the forefront of finding solutions to the challenges facing their community.

Yes, the Government has responsibility to provide infrastructure but citizens equally have a duty to work together and with the Government to develop themselves faster.

Therefore, initiatives such as the one of Kavumu residents supplement government efforts to accelerate development.

This may not be the first time residents have come together to build themselves a road or other critical infrastructure designed to uplift their living standards, but we need to see such refreshing initiatives more and more often.

Rwandans across the country should continue to embrace this self-help spirit to improve their living conditions and help fast-track national transformation agenda.