Daphrose Mpawenimana, 59, voluntarily returned to Burundi in 2005 from Rwanda, where she had lived for years as a refugee, as the country was embarking on peace after years of civil war.
Mpawenimana first settled at Rugombo town in Cibitoke province where she rented a small house. However, before too long, she was unable to continue paying the rent. In 2008, administration officials at Rugombo transferred her to a site known as Gikumba in Rugombo commune, where she lives with her daughter alongside other families of vulnerable people, including demobilised former combatants, indigenous people and Rugombo residents affected by floods in 2008. In total, 376 families live in makeshift houses in Gikumba, with very little means of livelihood. Mpawenimana spoke to IRIN about her experience:
"My husband and I fled the [civil] war separately; I have not managed to trace him since then. I don't know whether he is alive or not.
"When I came back [to Burundi], I found a little house in Rugombo. But without rent money, I could not stay there for long; I was forced out.
"They [the administration] gave us this plot [200 sqm for each family] and since then we have been left to ourselves. We are only entitled to the plot but we have no land to cultivate.
"The land all around us has already been allocated by local administration officials for building plots.
"We cannot even build ourselves a shelter. In this hut, if it rains, we stay standing because water pours in from everywhere. We have asked for plastic covers for some time now; I don't know if we will ever get them.
"Only able-bodied people can get a job working the fields for their daily subsistence. I live on knitting. If I get 500 francs [US$0.50], I thank God. But it takes days to knit one item.
"My daughter, who had just started secondary school, has now dropped out as I could not afford school fees. I tried to register her as a destitute child to benefit from free schooling – but in vain. She is now like many others here, offering her hands on a daily basis to work here and there."
See also: "Peace" villages come with a price
jb/js/mw
Mpawenimana first settled at Rugombo town in Cibitoke province where she rented a small house. However, before too long, she was unable to continue paying the rent. In 2008, administration officials at Rugombo transferred her to a site known as Gikumba in Rugombo commune, where she lives with her daughter alongside other families of vulnerable people, including demobilised former combatants, indigenous people and Rugombo residents affected by floods in 2008. In total, 376 families live in makeshift houses in Gikumba, with very little means of livelihood. Mpawenimana spoke to IRIN about her experience:
"My husband and I fled the [civil] war separately; I have not managed to trace him since then. I don't know whether he is alive or not.
"When I came back [to Burundi], I found a little house in Rugombo. But without rent money, I could not stay there for long; I was forced out.
"They [the administration] gave us this plot [200 sqm for each family] and since then we have been left to ourselves. We are only entitled to the plot but we have no land to cultivate.
"The land all around us has already been allocated by local administration officials for building plots.
"We cannot even build ourselves a shelter. In this hut, if it rains, we stay standing because water pours in from everywhere. We have asked for plastic covers for some time now; I don't know if we will ever get them.
"Only able-bodied people can get a job working the fields for their daily subsistence. I live on knitting. If I get 500 francs [US$0.50], I thank God. But it takes days to knit one item.
"My daughter, who had just started secondary school, has now dropped out as I could not afford school fees. I tried to register her as a destitute child to benefit from free schooling – but in vain. She is now like many others here, offering her hands on a daily basis to work here and there."
See also: "Peace" villages come with a price
jb/js/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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