Liberatha Uwineza remembers when kitchen gardens were common in her neighbourhood, with one in each household. Today, she says, many have disappeared, leaving fewer households growing vegetables for their families. “In previous years, we had many kitchen gardens, but their number has declined. Many households have not renewed their gardens, and you find some children in these families struggling to develop, with some suffering from undernutrition,” said Uwineza, a resident of Ruvumu Village in Nyamirama Sector. The concern influenced what she expects from the village leaders elected on Saturday, October 24. She said she wanted them to visit households, encourage residents to restore their kitchen gardens and follow up to ensure they maintain them. “I have trust in the village leader I voted for to keep reminding residents about the importance of kitchen gardens and check whether households are maintaining them,” she said. According to the figures from the 2025 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey, stunting affects 28.3 per cent of children under five in Kayonza District. Jean Paul Mugabe, the newly elected leader of Ruvumu village, which has more than 200 households, said his committee would work with community health workers to monitor children's development and encourage families to improve their diets. “As the elected committee, we will strengthen follow-up on early childhood development (ECD) centres across the village to ensure children receive proper care and get assessed on time,” Mugabe said. He added that the committee would encourage households to establish kitchen gardens and work with community health workers to ensure pregnant women and young children receive regular health checks to help prevent and identify malnutrition early. “When a household has vegetables nearby, it does not have to spend money buying them. This particularly helps families with limited resources,” he said. Mugabe pledged to work towards ending child stunting in Ruvumu before his term ends. He also said his committee would engage couples experiencing domestic conflicts, which he believes can affect children's welfare. Fred Hategekimana, the acting mayor of Kayonza District which as 421 villages, urged newly elected village leaders to work with other elected representatives, listen to residents and resolve problems within their responsibilities. “After the elections, we will engage village leaders to help them understand their responsibilities and remind them that they must work with other elected representatives to improve service delivery,” Hategekimana said. He urged leaders to accept advice from residents and resolve problems within their mandate. He also emphasised integrity, discipline and commitment to their responsibilities.
