Forty-five-year-old Abel Nsengamungu, a father of five, is among hundreds of Congolese refugees living in Rwanda’s oldest camp who are now running small businesses after humanitarian aid was reduced.
Born in Rutshuru Territoty in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Nsengamungu started with just Rwf12,000 making doughnuts to sell. He later expanded the business by opening a small café where he also served tea.
In March 2021, when the World Food Programme (WFP) officially cut aid by a dramatic 60 percent, he began working with wholesalers in Kigali, purchasing food supplies and household hygiene products on credit and selling them on behalf of his suppliers.
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Rwanda hosts over 130,000 Burundian and Congolese refugees in camps who rely on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic food needs each month.
Today, Nsengamungu owns a shop selling maize flour and other basic goods. He transports the products from the capital, Kigali, to Kiziba Refugee Camp in Karongi District in Rwanda’s Western Province.
“I started little by little, with savings, and I was able to open this shop,” said Nsengamungu, who is also head of the Kiziba Refugee Camp .
He arrived in the camp in 1996 after fleeing the wars in eastern DR Congo.
“Life was not easy after we arrived here, but because I loved business, I started small in 2004 and also joined savings groups,” he added. “The idea came when aid was reduced. Thanks to the good leadership of this country, we were encouraged to look for solutions ourselves.”
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As of now, some refugees had become dependent on food assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP).
“We did not know that we could develop ourselves because WFP used to provide us with food,” he said, noting that few countries in the region have done as much to support refugees.
By 2017, his business had grown to Rwf 3 million and today, he says his business is worth more than Rwf 15 million and employs seven people.
Asked whether he dreams of returning to his home country, the refugee leader said he believes he could have achieved even more if he had stayed in his country.
“I could have expanded my business beyond where it is today,” he said. “I could travel to Dubai and bring goods according to my talent. Nothing can replace your country. No matter how much money you have, your country will always come first.”
Aline Nyirarukundo, 30, a mother of two, is another Congolese refugee who hopes to return to her home country.
“All we dream of is returning home,” Nyirarukundo said. “We pray that these countries become safe and that the instability stops so we can return to the place where we were born.”
“Living as a refugee for more than 30 years is not easy.”
Nyirarukundo, together with five other women, runs a restaurant in the camp that serves employees of international organizations working there. The business has improved their family’s lives.
“My children go to school and do not suffer from hunger,” the mother of two added.
Frank Ngoga, in charge the Socio-Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Host Community Project (Jya Mbere Project) at the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management, said numerous initiatives implemented in and around the camp support both Kiziba Refugee Camp and the surrounding host community.
“It is part of the government’s efforts to promote social inclusion between refugees and host communities in Rwanda,” Ngoga said. “Schools, markets, hospitals, and other parts of the local economy have also been developed.”
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, during his previous visit to Nkamira Transit Camp in Rubavu District, home to more than 3,000 Congolese, called for lasting peace and security in eastern DR Congo to pave the way for the safe repatriation of Congolese refugees currently sheltering in Rwanda.
“We all know peace and security in Congo is a complicated issue,” he stated while briefing the media, indicating that if the ongoing peace process proceeds “in a positive manner, we can find a solution for these refugees.”
“I just spoke to them [the refugees], and they all told me the same thing, ‘we want to go back if there is peace and security.’”