A new approach for the integration of refugees paying off in Rwanda

In her native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Clémentine Bugenimana, 42, lived in the sale of food products.Today refugee in Rwanda, she learned to cultivate the land through a program that allows her to feed her family and earn some money.

"This project has really changed my life," she says."I no longer need to buy corn.I have savings thanks to the money earned by my agricultural activity, which helps me take care of my children.»»

At the Mugombwa refugee camp, this mother of six works alongside her Rwandan neighbors as part of the Misizi Marshlands project (the Misizi marshes), an agricultural initiative funded by the IKEA Foundation and supported by the Rwandan government.

The program allocated more than 50 hectares of land that some 1,400 refugees and Rwandan can cultivate together.

With her Rwandan friend Mushimiyimana Yassine, she cultivates beans and corn on this rich soil and participates in the management of pig and poultry farms that are part of the project.

Its success is not the result of chance.Rwanda welcomes more than 126,000 refugees and has made significant progress to improve their lives and that of their reception communities thanks to the commitments it made during the World Forum on Refugees in 2019.

In order to empower refugees at a time when travel levels reach records in the world, participants in this multisectoral forum have committed to creating job opportunities for refugees, places in schools fortheir children, and to provide them with clean energy.They also promised to create infrastructure and provide better support to communities and host countries, as well as promote long -term solutions such as voluntary repatriation and resettlement.

The Misizi Marshlands project is one of the many initiatives launched in Rwanda to achieve these objectives.Two years after the forum, a first high -level meeting on December 14 and 15, made it possible to take stock of the progress made by the various states and actors as part of the forum and the global pact on refugees in 2018.

Participants have identified the progress made, the challenges encountered and the areas in which an additional commitment is necessary to increase support, autonomy and access to solutions for refugees, taking into account the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic-19.

In Rwanda, progress does not only concern means of subsistence.About 200 kilometers east of Mugombwa, near the border between Rwanda and Tanzania, is the Mahama camp, which houses more than 55,000 refugees.This is where Ntariteka Moise, a 36 -year -old Burundian refugee, helps improve the lives of young people through education.

Moise found security in Rwanda six years ago.At home, he was a student in English and literature in a local university.

« J'ai pu poursuivre mes études universitaires au Rwanda et j'ai obtenu un diplôme de licence»», annonce-t-il fièrement.

He found a teacher job at school G.S.Peasantry, near the Mahama camp.Less than a year later, the school was enlarged to accommodate both refugee and Rwandan students, as part of the efforts made by Rwanda to integrate refugees into the national education system.

The school had a serious overpopulation problem, with more than 100 students per class.But thanks to an enlargement project of the school funded by the UNHCR, the United Nations Agency for Refugees, more than 200 new classrooms have been built, making more than double the total number of classes and reducingThe number of students per class at 70.

In total, UNHCR and its partners, including the World Bank, supported more than 500 new classrooms in the country's schools.The quality of the teaching was improved - which boosted attendance rates - and a greater number of refugee and Rwandan students were able to register.

« Lorsque les enfants réfugiés et rwandais étudient ensemble, ils apprennent les uns des autres et cela profite à l'ensemble de la communauté»», ajoute Moise.

The implementation in Rwanda of the Global Pact on Refugees allows refugees as Moses to find work.Camp -based refugees become less dependent on assistance programs and have better access to job opportunities.Moise adds that almost two thirds of teachers from her school are refugees, as are most of the students.

Aneilla Nizeyimana, Burundian refugee and mother of three children, lives near the École de Moise.She learned the manufacture of soap in Burundi, but never had the opportunity to put her know-how in practice until she fits post-electoral violence in 2016 and arrives in Rwanda, where she hasrealized that there was a high demand for soap among the refugees and the host community.

The launch of her soap production company was not easy because it did not have the capital and the necessary knowledge in terms of business.Aneilla is one of the 90 refugees that have been rewarded by Youth Connekt, an innovative national platform that puts young people in contact with certain socio-economic opportunities.She and 89 other entrepreneurs refugees have acquired basic commercial skills and have received a starting capital for the implementation of their ideas.

"The price of the price helped me a lot. J'ai acheté du matériel pour augmenter ma productivité»», explique Aneilla, qui a également pu investir dans un smartphone pour promouvoir son activité et recevoir des paiements électroniques.

A year later, Youth Connekt injected more capital into Aneilla's business, allowing it to increase its production and provide soap to refugees and Rwandans of the camp and the surrounding area.It currently employs eight people, including seven Burundian refugees and a Rwandan.Only financial support from her family of four, Aneilla soon hopes to be able to invest in new machines to develop her activity.

"My life is better than it was when I arrived in Rwanda.It was very difficult for me to support my family... mais lorsque j'ai lancé le projet, c'est là que j'ai vu de la lumière au bout du tunnel»», explique Aneilla.

She hopes to be able to employ more people in the future.

« Je veux aider mes voisins et toute la communauté, employer de nombreux travailleurs, et offrir des opportunités d'emploi aux jeunes»», ajoute-t-elle.

Nayana Bose, UNHCR employee in Kigali, says Rwanda has been impressive by the progress it has made to achieve the world's objectives on refugees.

« Le Rwanda a fait un excellent travail en intégrant les réfugiés dans le système éducatif national, en incluant les réfugiés urbains dans le plan national d'assurance maladie communautaire, en leur fournissant des cartes d'identité nationales et en leur offrant des opportunités de travail»», explique-t-elle.

The high -level meeting made it possible not only to reflect on the success of these initiatives in Rwanda and in other major host countries of refugees in the world, but also to identify current shortcomings, to seek alternative solutions andTake new commitments for refugees and their hosts for the next World Forum on Refugees in 2023.

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