BUJUMBURA October 25th (ABP) – Chinese Ambassador to Burundi Mrs. Zhao Jiangping and UNHCR Representative in Burundi Abdul Karim Ghoul signed the contract on Friday, October 22, 2021 at the headquarters of the Chinese Embassy the vocational training project for young refugees living in urban areas in Burundi.
Ms. Zhao Jiangping said that this training will be attended by 30 young people living in urban areas. For this training, it is initially planned an envelope of 15,000 US dollars. Those young people will learn trades for three months and then they will do professional internships for three months as well.
The UNHCR representative in Burundi indicated that the importance of signing this project contract is that we will apply the adage that says “instead of giving someone fish, you have to learn it to fish “. That initiative is the local realization of the partnership between China and UNHCR. He reported that nearly 40% of refugees live in urban areas. So far, almost all NGO attention has been focused on refugees living in camps in the interior of the country, and little attention has been paid to refugees living in urban areas. Even if the amount is not large enough, the type of activity that is going to be supported is very important. He added that the Burundian government is open to the repatriation of Burundian refugees. It is willing to support but does not always have the means, hence the importance of support from the international community in general and from China in particular. This signing is a good start which heralds great potential in the future for refugees living in Burundi, for Burundian returnees and for the Burundian government.
Note that the coordinator of the National Office for the Protection of Refugees at the Ministry of the Interior, Samuel Ndayisenga was present to witness the signing of that contract.