A total of 782 people comprising mostly returnees and some vulnerable citizens, on Friday received start-up kits after completing a six-month hands-on skills training carried out under the framework of the Sustainable Return and Reintegration Programme.

Beneficiaries acquired hands-on skills in areas such as welding, tailoring, knitting, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, hairdressing, handcraft, photography and shoemaking.

Consolée Nyiransengimana, 20, from Karongi District, repatriated from DR Congo in 2009 with her 73-year-old mother.

She said life was hard because she had no source of income. But now that she has acquired skills in welding and start−up kit, Nyiransengimana said, life is going to change for the better.

"We were struggling because I was unemployed, but now I am sure life will certainly get better,” Nyiransengimana said.

Jérémie Havugimana, 28, fromf Nyaruguru District, said he repatriated with his family from DR Congo in 2010.He said they were leading a miserable life.

"The skills I have acquired in shoemaking will enable me to make leather shoes that I can sell at Rwf20,000 a pair. I am now going to be self-employed and self-reliant. I will not be asking for support from government, such support could go to others who need it,” he said.

Speaking during the graduation event in Karongi, Seraphine Mukantabana, the minister for disaster management and refugee affairs, said the repatriation and sustainable reintegration of Rwandan refugees remains among the top priorities of the Government of Rwanda and it has established mechanisms to achieve this goal.

‘Make most of the assistance’

Mukantabana urged the beneficiaries to make the most of the skills they acquired through forming cooperatives and working hard for self-reliance, adding that the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDMAR) will continue to offer them the support needed.

"We will be working with local government and the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) to ensure the beneficiaries get relevant cooperative management skills. We will also do follow up to offer any support needed,” she said.

Mukantabana said, about 3.5 million Rwandans who had fled to different countries have returned home since 1994 and many more continue to return.

Dr Azam Saber, the UNHCR country representative, commended Rwanda’s efforts in decent returnee reintegration and the achievements so far made by One UN in this regard, but stated that there is a need to change the routine under which United Nations and other partners have been supporting the reintegration project.

"We should adopt a more comprehensive need-driven approach not funds driven approach, because we have been acting based on the available funds. We should respond to the needs of people and not to the quantity of money we have. We have to know what people need and then based on their needs, develop ideas, go to the donors, do fundraising and get appropriate funding,” he said.

The Chief of Mission of the International Organisation for Migration (Rwanda), Catherine Northing, said the project will help beneficiaries effectively enter the labour market.

"It is an exciting opportunity for the beneficiaries because it supports them to become economically independent,” Northing said.

The Sustainable Return and Reintegration Programme focuses on the principles of good governance, good health, education, food security, income generation activities and capacity building for refugees.

At least 1,700 households in 10 districts across the country have benefited from the project over the last two years.

The six-month training programme was funded by the Government of Sweden through One UN.

The beneficiaries of the hands-on skills training programme are from 10 districts of Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, Karongi, Nyamasheke, Rusizi, Ngororero, Bugesera, Nyamagabe and Musanze.

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