St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, from the United States, praised Kigali’s cycling culture and promotion of healthy living after joining residents for Car Free Day.
Spencer cycled alongside Kigali Vice Mayor for Urbanisation and Infrastructure Fulgence Dusabimana on Sunday, November 8. In a post on X, the City of Kigali said the visiting mayor commended its encouragement of an active lifestyle and its vibrant cycling culture.
Residents participated in activities including walking, running, cycling and aerobics during the morning’s community exercise programme.
Spencer’s participation came during a visit aimed at developing business and institutional relationships with Kigali. She travelled with a delegation organised with World Trade Center St. Louis, whose mission also includes Nairobi, Kenya.
“Our trip to Africa is to establish trade mission relationships with Nairobi and Kigali,” Spencer said in a statement released before the visit.
Her office identified trade, agriculture, healthcare, technology and education among the areas offering opportunities for cooperation. Infrastructure, workforce development and cultural exchanges are also among the delegation’s interests.
Kigali and St. Louis, in the US state of Missouri, are preparing to formalise a sister-city partnership, with an agreement expected during the delegation’s visit. The proposed partnership would support cooperation involving businesses, public institutions and community organisations.
The bicycle ride brought Spencer into a programme Kigali introduced in 2016 to encourage residents to exercise regularly and help prevent non-communicable diseases.
During Car Free Day, designated roads are reserved for activities such as walking, running and cycling, giving participants space to exercise together. The programme also provides an opportunity to offer health information and screening services.
Partners including the Rwanda NCD Alliance and Rwanda Biomedical Centre have supported the gatherings through free medical check-ups and education on preventing and detecting non-communicable diseases.
In 2019, Car Free Day earned Kigali the public-health category of the Wellbeing City Award, recognising its combination of community exercise and medical check-ups. More than 100 cities from 27 countries were considered for that year’s awards.
Elie GATETE
RADIOTV10