Building equality in Burundi through inclusive social protection
WFP and the Government of Burundi are supporting refugee families to ‘be like others.’
By Joella Bigirimana
In 2021, violence and insecurity forced Neema to flee her home in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “They robbed us, ransacked our houses and killed people — my friends and families in the community,” she says. With her three children in tow, she walked hundreds of kilometers to safety in neighbouring Burundi. Today, her family is one of 2,265 living in the Nyankanda camp in the north-eastern part of the country, 200 km east of Bujumbura.
Over the past ten years, growing insecurity in the North and South Kivu regions of eastern DRC has led to the displacement of thousands of people to Burundi. WFP supports 57,000 refugees and asylum-seekers with assistance in the form of cash and in-kind, at 75 per cent of a full food ration.
Spread across five camps throughout the country, refugees often have no freedom of movement, limited access to livelihood opportunities, and depend mainly on humanitarian assistance for survival.
Given these challenges, the Government of Burundi’s Merankabandi II initiative, financed by the World Bank and implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP), aims to promote income-generating activities and build self-reliance for 3,420 refugee families living in the Nyankanda and Bwagiriza camps. Merankabandi means ‘be like others’ in the Kirundi language; the programme integrates refugees into the national social protection system, alongside Burundian citizens.
“Before Merankabandi, we depended on the food assistance distributed by WFP to cover the family’s food needs and expenses,” Neema recounts. “Unfortunately, this year the rations were reduced to 75 per cent and only covered 15 to 20 days. For the rest of the month, I had to borrow money here and there to buy food,” she adds.
In addition to the monthly food assistance distributed by WFP, each family enrolled in Merankabandi receives a bi-monthly cash transfer of US$25 to meet other essential needs. They also receive a one-off cash transfer of US$200 for the development of income-generating activities.
“Merankabandi has brightened up my life. The cash I received enabled me to start poultry farming and I now have eggs to sell. The money I earn enables me to provide two meals a day for my children,” says Neema.
“With the first cash assistance, I bought two ducks. With the second, I added two hens to my farm and through the third, I rented a small piece of land to farm. I now have 13 birds and the money I get from harvesting helps me to buy feed for them,” she adds proudly.
Makombe Andika is another refugee in Burundi and parent of eight children. For him, depending entirely on humanitarian aid to take care of his family was difficult. “Thanks to Merankabandi, I was able to start my own carpentry business,” he says, carefully polishing a plank of wood that he will turn into a door for his client. “I can earn up to 40,000 Burundian Francs (US$10.5) per week, which helps me feed my children and look after my family,” he smiles.
The initiative supports small businesses and fosters a camp micro-economy by enabling people to choose how and where to spend their money locally. “After each Merankabandi cash distribution, I receive a lot of orders and the number of customers increases,” adds Makombe.
The government of Burundi plans to expand the Merankabandi II initiative to reach 8,000 refugee families hosted in all five refugee camps by 2027.
