Her name is Uziya Nyamugo. She lives in Uvira, more precisely in Kalundu. She is one of the women in AHDS, Humanitarian Action for Social Development. During the visit of the LATAWAMA project team to the city of Uvira in October 2021, we met Uziya and the members of the association on the ground doing their almost daily work: composting organic waste. The members of this association value compost, in particular, in a nursery of forest plants and fruit trees. One of them agrees to testify about this work on which she devoted a part of her life.

Uziya is one of the first to join the association called Humanitarian Action for Social Development located in the city of Uvira. This association is mostly made up of low-income women. Some 40 women are motivated to help develop the community.

The association has been in existence for 12 years. These women have devoted a part of their time to it. Their goal is to contribute to public health, and reforestation through the collection and composting of organic waste, in a city where the waste collection process is almost non-existent.

The collection and composting action of organic waste carried out by the members of the association are voluntary. “We go into households to collect the waste, and we turn it into compost,” she says. The compost then produced is used in their fields and in the forest nursery to produce plants for reforestation of the hills overlooking the city of Uvira. Ultimately, the association aims to increase the collection of organic waste and the production of compost to generate additional income.

« This constructive approach includes the bases of the circular economy that the LATAWAMA project wishes to support in cooperation with the Environment Service of the City of Uvira» confirms Didier Cadelli, Intervention Manager. Improvement of the collection of organic waste, production of compost, recovery of compost through horticultural and market gardening production constitute a virtuous circle to be encouraged.