Nyankanda refugee camp opened for Congolese refugees

A new refugee camp was officially opened this Thursday, 18 April 2019 in Butezi commune of Ruyigi province in the east of Burundi.

Nyankanda refugee camp currently hosts 300 households with 1162 Congolese mostly women.

Nyankanda Refugee camp hosts 300 households with 1162 Congolese mostly women and is established on a perimeter of 77 ha in Munyinya area.

Before joining the place prepared for the ceremonies, various personalities such as Déo Ruberintwari, permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, Saoudatou Bah-Mansaré, head of the UNHCR sub-delegation in Ruyigi, the governor of Ruyigi province, representatives of various NGO partners of UNHCR and others made a guided tour in the new camp.

They explored various social and sanitary facilities built in the camp such as a school, a health center, a unit of production of combustible briquettes and the administrative block.
It is the first refugee camp built as a solid infrastructure in Burundi.
Déo Ruberintwari says it is “a camp that does not look like others”. He asks refugees to take care of these buildings.

He also says Burundi government will do its best for the welfare of refugees. “More than 78 thousand refugees were counted on the territory of Burundi till 31 March and they are mainly Congolese,” he says, calling the surrounding population to live in solidarity with the refugees.
Mrs. Bah-Mansaré says this camp demonstrates once again the hospitality of Burundi and its citizens. She asks the refugees to respect Burundian institutions and laws and urges them to peacefully live with the host communities.

The Nyankanda camp is the 5th largest Congolese refugee camp in Burundi after Kinama, Musasa, Bwagiriza and Kavumu camps. It was built with a funding of nearly BIF 5 billion. Its houses are classified into two categories: traditional and prefabricated houses. It can host an average of 11 thousand refugees.