The land of milk and honey

All of the repatriated refugees shared something in common when they arrived in Ndego: they all desperately missed milk. Milk was the life force for many back in Tanzania, where they made their livelihood from raising cattle and selling milk.
When the repatriates first arrived in Rwanda, there were a few major adjustments. First, they had [...]

Securing a Future: The Development of Trades and Crafts in Ndego

Like almost anyone anywhere, the people of Ndego have dreams they long to realize. These dreams are particularly felt as it was not even two years ago they were forced out of Tanzania and arrived as repatriated refugees in Rwanda with little other than the shirts on their backs.
In Tanzania, most were cattle herders where [...]

Starting over alone: the life of a widow in Rugeyo

Brilliantly coloured skirts flap in the wind, hung on a string tied to the branches of two trees that stand about seven feet apart. Joy Kobusinge sits beneath one of the trees on a flat rock covered by a straw mat. The 48-year-old looks into the distance, past the plumes of smoke rising from her [...]

A Newfound Woman? Gender roles in Tanzania and Rwanda

Despite sharing a geographical border, women’s rights in Tanzania and Rwanda lie a world’s distance apart. According to several female repatriated Rwandan refugees who once lived in Tanzania before being expelled by the government in 2006, Tanzanian women are not as well treated as their Rwandan counterparts.
Stories describing gender-based violence and forced polygamy are common [...]

Building a life from scratch

Canizius Ukurikiyimana was only 19-years-old when he was forced to leave Tanzania and resettle in Rugeyo, a small village in Rwanda’s eastern province. He is one of many thousands of Rwandans who were expelled from Tanzania in late 2006, leaving almost everything he worked for and loved behind.

And for Canizius, this included his [...]