RUTANA, December 6th (ABP) – Refugees, returnees and the host population are being called upon to live in harmony and work together for development. That appeal was made on Tuesday 3 December 2024 by Jean Claude Nikiza, legal representative of the Association of Young Burundi Repatriates (AJRB), at the end of awareness-raising sessions organised for those population groups on various themes. The sessions were held at the refugee site on Musenyi village, in the commune of Giharo, in the province of Rutana.
The lessons, which focused on social cohesion, the fight against gender-based violence, the prevention of drug use, raising public awareness of sexually-transmitted infections and the promotion of bodily hygiene and reproductive health, were given to those three groups over two days, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
At the end of that activity, Nikiza explained that the choice of those themes and the target population was motivated by the fact that the members of the above-mentioned association, having themselves been refugees, know the reality of what the three groups are facing. He went on to point out that the main objective of those sessions is to build an inclusive and harmonious society.
The beneficiaries of the lessons, who spoke to ABP, welcomed that initiative and expressed the hope that relations between those groups, already good until now, would improve.
Note that at the end of each session, questions were put to the participants, and those who answered correctly received prizes such as jerry cans, soaps and periodical trimmings.