GENEVA, Switzerland, April 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has handed over to the Rwandan government the final tranche of a four-year programme that has helped over 11,000 returnees from neighbouring countries and vulnerable people in host communities to reintegrate into Rwanda’s society and economy.
The programme, funded by Japan and implemented in partnership with Rwanda’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), was launched in 2010 and targeted 20 high return districts.
Most of the beneficiaries fled Rwanda around the time of the 1994 genocide and returned home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Since March 2013, the IOM programme has helped over 5,000 direct beneficiaries with vocational skills training and small business start-up capital, livestock or shelter assistance.
Vocational skills training included tailoring, mechanical engineering, welding, carpentry and knitting. Livestock aid was in the form of goats, sheep or pigs. Housing assistance included CGI roofing sheets, nails, windows and doors.
Another 10,000 people benefited from 10 community projects in high return areas. They included four schools, seven health posts and one transit centre.
IOM also implemented a public awareness campaign with MIDIMAR at both local and national levels to sensitize the population to the rights and challenges facing the returnees.
Over three million Rwandan refugees have returned home since the 1994 genocide. Another 70,000 are expected to return by 2015, due to ongoing instability in the DRC and the June 2013 cessation of their DRC refugee status.
Most of the returnees are desperately poor and need livelihood skills and resources to restart their lives. IOM Rwanda is urgently seeking funding to continue to help them, particularly in the area of vocational training, in close coordination with the government and UN agencies.
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