In refugee camp in western Rwanda with over 17,000 people, a group of young people are excited to be pursuing further education through a US accredited university.
The Congolese refugees in Kiziba camp are taking various online degree courses from the Southern New Hampshire University in the United States through a Rwandan charity according to a report by AFP.
High university fees in Rwanda which cost up to $1,200 annually has barred the young refugees from achieving their dreams. 25 refugees in their 20s have been granted the opportunity to pursue studies in communications and management in a pace of up to five years.
“Before finishing high school, I had no hope of going to university but now I see it’s possible!” enthuses Eugenie Manirafasha, who was just six months old when her family fled to Rwanda in 1996.
Since Rwanda is among the very few countries in the world to allow refugees to work and move around freely, the degree is bound to come in handy. The degree gives the refugees “an opportunity to integrate better” into Rwandan society, as well as a way to “give back” to the country that has taken them in, according to Nina Weaver, who runs Kepler’s educational programmes.
“Tertiary education is one way to make refugees independent,” he told AFP. “It gives a boost to (the) refugee mentality and gives them hope they are not being forgotten by the international community.”
