MAKAMBA November 11th (ABP) – The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Burundi, Mr. Claude Bochu, on Tuesday November 9 visited the Gitara transit center in Mabanda commune, in Makamba province (southern Burundi) to inquire about the reception situation of Burundian returnees, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Mr. Bochu said that this visit is part of the EU support amounting to 4 million euros for repatriation to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of returnees and support their social reintegration-economic in host communities.
The EU will contribute to the financing of return and shelter kits for vulnerable families, to support the reintegration, economic empowerment, nutrition and protection of returnees and host communities in Makamba and Kirundo provinces. The EU Ambassador to Burundi said his organization has allocated this sum to respond to the appeal launched by UNHCR and UNDP, in partnership with the government of Burundi as well as humanitarian actors.
In her speech, the governor of Makamba, Mrs. Françoise Ngozirazana, thanked the EU for this support and asked the 124 returnees to participate in the development and self-financing work in their villages of origin. She also invited them to join cooperatives, like those who remained in the country.
The UNHCR representative in Burundi, Mr. Abdoul Karim Ghoul, welcomed the returnees, stressing that they had made a good decision to come and help build their native country. About 124 returnees, distributed in 32 households, were welcomed on Tuesday in the transit of Gitara. It is on Wednesday, November 10 that they will be sent to the communes of origin.