Participants will identify progress, challenges and where further engagement is needed to increase support, self-reliance and access to solutions for refugees, taking into consideration the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Rwanda, strides are not just being made in livelihoods. Around 200 kilometres east of Mugombwa near Rwanda’s border with Tanzania lies Mahama camp – home to more than 55,000 refugees – where Burundian refugee Ntariteka Moise, 36, is making a difference to young people through education.
Moise found safety in Rwanda six years ago. Back home, he was an English and Literature student at a local university.
« I continued with my university studies in Rwanda and graduated with a bachelor’s degree, » he says proudly.
He got a job as a teacher at G.S. Paysannat School near Mahama camp, and less than a year later, the school was upgraded to accommode both refugee and Rwandan students as part of Rwanda’s efforts to integrate refugees in the national education system.
The school suffered from severe overcrowding, with over 100 students per class. But thanks to a school expansion project funded by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, over 200 new classrooms were constructed, more than doubling the total and reducing the number of pupils per class to 70.
Cumulatively, UNHCR and partners including the World Bank have supported the construction of over 500 new classrooms in national schools across the country, improving the quality of education – which has boosted attendance rates – and allowing more refugee and Rwandan students to enrol.
« When refugee and Rwandan children study together, they learn from each other and this benefits the entire community, » adds Moise.
The implementation of the GCR in Rwanda allows refugees like Moise to find work, by helping camp-based refugees out of assistance programmes and increasing their access to job opportunities. Moise adds that nearly two thirds of the teachers in his school are refugees, as are a majority of the pupils.
Living near Moise’s school is Burundian refugee Aneilla Nizeyimana, a 30-year-old mother of three. She learned soapmaking back in Burundi, but never had the chance to practice it until she fled post-election violence in 2016 and came to Rwanda, where she realised there was high demand for soap among refugees and the host community.
Starting her soap business was not easy as she lacked the necessary capital and commercial skills. Aneilla was one of 90 refugees who won awards through Youth Connekt – an innovative national platform connecting young people with socio-economic opportunities. She and 89 other refugee entrepreneurs learnt basic business skills and were given seed capital for their business ideas.
« The prize money helped me very much. I bought raw materials to increase my soap productivity, » says Aneilla, who was also able to invest in a smartphone to help promote her business and receive payments using mobile money.
A year later, Youth Connekt injected more capital into Aneilla’s business, allowing her to increase production and supply soap to refugees and Rwandans in the camp and surrounding areas. She currently employs a staff of eight made up of seven Burundian refugees and a local Rwandan. The sole breadwinner for her family of four, Aneilla soon hopes to be able to invest in machinery to further expand her business.
« Rwanda has done an excellent job integrating refugees. »
« My life is better than it was when I arrived in Rwanda. It was very difficult for me to cater to my family … but when I started the project, that’s when I saw some light at the end of the tunnel, » Aneilla says.
She hopes to employ more people in the future.
« I want to help my neighbours and the entire community, and employ many workers and provide job opportunities to the youth, » she adds.
Nayana Bose, UNHCR’s Comprehensive Refugee Response Officer based in Kigali says Rwanda has been impressive with the progress it has made towards meeting its GCR objectives.
« Rwanda has done an excellent job integrating refugees in the national education system, including urban refugees in the national community-based health insurance plan, providing them with national ID cards and offering them livelihoods opportunities, » she explains.
As well as reflecting on the success of such initiatives in Rwanda and other major refugee hosting countries around the world, the High Level Officials’ Meeting will also identify current gaps, seek alternative solutions, and pledge new commitments for refugees and their hosts ahead of the next Global Refugee Forum in 2023.
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