Members of the Chinese embassy in Rwanda and Chinese enterprises on Saturday morning joined over 100 Rwandan people in doing monthly community work, Umuganda, in a suburb of Rwanda's capital city, Kigali.

Taking root from Rwandan culture of self-help and cooperation, Umuganda, held on the last Saturday of the month, can be translated as "coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome," according to Rwanda Governance Board.

In 1998, the Rwandan government reintroduced Umuganda as part of efforts to rebuild the country after the 1994 Rwandan genocide against Tutsi.

The Chinese and Rwandan residents in Makaga village cleared tree trunks to level the ground for constructing residential houses of vulnerable families.

The Chinese embassy hopes to participate in community work in Rwanda together with the Rwandan people to contribute to the development of local communities, Xing Yuchun, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda, told Xinhua on the sidelines of Umuganda.

Through Umuganda, the embassy also expects to enhance Chinese people's understanding of common Rwandan people, strengthen the connections between the two peoples and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Xing said.

Emmanuel Rutubuka, executive secretary of Kigali sector, which covers areas including Makaga village, thanked the Chinese for supporting Rwandans in community development.

"This is an important gesture that strengthens the existing good bilateral relations between Rwanda and China," he said.

Local resident Jean Paul Ndayisaba is excited by the participation of Chinese in Umuganda.

"If foreigners can participate in Umuganda, why not us? We appreciate the Chinese for supporting us to develop our community," Ndayisaba said.