The Green Saves Project is a project that was operated in the Refugee camp called Bweramvura since March, 2015 for 10 weeks. It was funded by International Citizen Services (ICS) and Tearfund.

It was 9:00 AM, the beginning of a nice day here on the outskirts of Kigali. There was a scattering of people sitting amongst the shell of an abandoned school, children wandering there, and the fumes of women cooking fills the open air. This is Bweramvura Refugee Camp.

      Children wondering outside

The refugee camp is located in Bweramvura cell, Jabana Sector, Gasabo district in Kigali city and it was occupied by vulnerable Rwandan refugees who fled from Tanzania.  It was made up of 48 families, and around 168 people in total.

Primary school has  become their shelter. Each classroom houses from 3 to 5 families.

In July 2014, the Tanzanian government gave a direct order that any Rwandans living in Tanzanian without a visa should leave the country within 14 days. Many were born and raised there; they have no connection to Rwanda. Their parents or grandparents fled Rwanda during the 1959 and 1962 conflicts. Despite having spent more than 35 years in Tanzania, they were forced out of the country.

Many of them returned to Rwanda with nothing at all, leaving behind their land, their cattle, and their Tanzanian husbands or wives. They were vulnerable and lived on the aid provided by the Rwandan government. This wasn’t enough to fulfil basic needs. As a result, these refugees did not have the opportunities required to start their new lives.

   Everyday activities were all done outside the common houses.

About the Green saves project

The project served so much in improving the beneficiary’s nutrition by teaching them how to make small kitchen gardens. The project also helps them through teaching them about saving, and then enabled them to start small saving groups, that they are now working in to get small loans and improve their financial status. Family planning, team work and other related course are also delivered to the beneficiaries.

      One of the self-help groups receiving their saving books.

The root of this project was building relationships with the beneficiaries; thus helping them to re-establish their hopes of a good life. We are passionate about giving practical help to those in need and showing them that there are people in the world who care about them.

      Beneficiaries working on the tree nursery project

Read more about the Green Saves project  here