JRS Burundi began working with internally displaced Burundians in 1995. After the return of relative peace to the region, JRS shifted its support to the integration of more than 500,000 former refugees who began returning home from Tanzania in 2002. Since the civil conflict began again in 2015, JRS has ramped up our efforts to serve displaced Burundians and refugees in the country once again.

Currently, JRS Burundi works with refugees in the city of Bujumbura, as well as in Ruyigi and Muyinga provinces. There, JRS facilitates formal and informal education, agricultural training, and support for victims of GBV in the camps of Kinama and Musasa in Muyinga, and Kavumu and Bwagiriza in Ruyigi, where more than 32,000 Congolese families have settled long-term. Furthermore, early childhood development, sports, and leisure activities are also implemented to promote psychosocial welfare for refugee children in the camps.

JRS is also part of the working group for the repatriation and reintegration of returnees in Burundi, which is coordinated by UNHCR, UNDP and the Government. JRS contribute primarily to the reintegration program and more specifically to strengthening social cohesion, peaceful cohabitation, human rights and participatory community development, especially through support to community dialogues for peace and social cohesion and support to community activities. JRS is also contributing to the guarantee of quality education through the construction and rehabilitation of school infrastructure, distribution of materials, training and school programs for out-of-school children. This program is implemented in the provinces of Makamba, Cibitoke, Ruyigi and Kirundo

With the support of Funds For Women, some 300 urban refugees (mostly girls) living in Bujumbura, the capital city, have access to public education and livelihood training to promote the improvement of their socioeconomic situation and their integration in the surrounding, local communities.

In December 2020, JRS Burundi’s program to support the education of children with diverse needs in Bujumbura received a Special Mention of the Human Rights Prix of the French Republic – CNCDH.