"MAISON SHALOM" FOR THE SCHOOLING OF BURUNDIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN IN RWANDA
The “Maison Shalom” created by Marguerite Barankitse in 1993 seeks to restore dignity and hope to orphans of war, AIDS, street children, minors and babies in prison (infants with their mothers), and the children of poverty-stricken parents in Burundi.
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The war that has wracked Burundi since 2015 has resulted in hundreds of deaths and more than 300.000 displaced people to neighboring countries, including nearly 80,000 refugees in Rwanda, mainly in the Mahama camp and in cities like Kigali and Huye.
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The “Maison Shalom” was forced to relocate to Rwanda where it provides assistance to some of the orphans who have managed to escape the massacres in Burundi and other refugee children who come to it.
In this worrying humanitarian situation, young people and especially girls are exposed to various problems ranging from delinquency to prostitution and trauma.
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It is with the purpose of alleviating all these problems and restoring hope to these people that the “Maison Shalom” has developed activities to support refugees, especially the schooling of young refugees, who are in Rwanda.
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“Every child has the right to education. Ensuring education for all is the basis for ensuring equal opportunities for all. “
The “Fondation pour l’égalité des chances en Afrique” has allocated assistance of 20.000 euros to the “Maison Shalom” in order to offer to young refugees the opportunity to go to school. This aid will modestly contribute to the purchase of school materials for these children in order to allow them a social reintegration and thus restore their hope in the future despite the despair of exile.