It is not usual to see garbage spilling over dustbins and even scattered in open public spaces in Rwanda. However the case was different in Rwagitima market in Gatsibo District.

During community awareness and community gathering on WASH services, community members raised the issue of seeing garbage allover especially during market days, an accurance that was worrying to many and seen as avoidable because of lack of garbage pits. As a practice, garbage collection truck would come once in a week.

Citizens place their hope in CVA group that may be they will reach out the authorities to find solution and rid the community of this major health hazard. Indeed CVA group prioritized the issue, engaged the garbage collection and transportation company, local and District leadership on this.

Before CVA interventions, there was no Garbage pit at Rwagitima market, which had caused bad smell and bad sanitation. After the CVA group raised the issue and continuously conducted advocacy at both sector and district level, the pit has been built and is being used to collect all rubbish. This has solved sanitation issues that had been raised by the community members.

Efforts to solve the problem started by the District notifying the garbage collection and transportation company of their responsibility for collecting, transporting and disposing waste generated in the communities. They were reminded to always leave the open dumps clean. Also there were encouraged to dump the garbage in authorized sites which are located away from the communities. Also the District leadership during the community meeting called on community members to watch over the rag-pickers involved in removing recyclable waste not to throw rubbish everywhere.

The District authority working with communities have dug a big pit that will always be a garbage collection center as one way of reducing the number of dumping sites and to easy collection and transportation by the private company. During monitoring of the implementation of action plans, CLADHO and local leaders were happy to find that the number of garbage dumping sites were few and no garbage in many places. Many of the dumping sites were converted into selling stalls. One of the site is now occupied by arts and designers making beautiful paintings in a place that once was testimony of bad smell.