The Reintegrating Youth in Post-Conflict Burundi through Livelihoods Promotion project targets both repatriating refugee youth and youth who remained in Burundi (ages 15 – 24), providing opportunities for exchange, collaboration and skills-building to peacefully transform lives. As 102,000 Burundian refugees return in 2008-2009, due to the closure of refugee camps in western Tanzania, young people will encounter steep challenges. Young men are at risk of recruitment to armed groups aligned along political and ethnic lines, which are proliferating in the run-up to 2010 national elections. Young women are vulnerable to abandonment, sexual and gender-based violence and limited economic opportunities. Youth face an under-invested education system unable to accommodate all students, particularly at the secondary level where spaces are fewer and applicants must have the necessary credentials and resources to gain entry. For those not lucky enough to secure a place in school, there are few other opportunities. Involving youth in livelihood programs while building on their strengths and potential is critical in smoothing their reintegration as well as counteracting the many risks and challenges they face.

The Reintegrating Youth in Post-Conflict Burundi through Livelihoods Promotion project provides a comprehensive skills training package that allows youth the flexibility to navigate the emerging market and a variety of employment opportunities. The program includes:

• Skills training program that will be certified by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Skills Training to ensure value and recognition of the program and linkages to the formal state-run vocational training programs,
• Start-up kits to apprentice graduates so they can begin to practice their new trades,
• Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) where groups of graduates can pool money to a fund which members can borrow from during the business start-up phase, and
• Locally-relevant life skills curriculum and capacity strengthening of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to raise awareness of youth rights.

This initiative will draw on IRC’s extensive youth livelihoods experience in post-conflict countries including Ethiopia, Uganda, Liberia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, allowing for empirically-based knowledge, best practices and lessons learned to be shared with the Burundi program. IRC will focus on training and supporting community-based structures and community leaders by building their capacity to protect and be accountable to children and youth in their communities.

Carrie Berg
Youth and Livelihoods Program Manager
Carrie.berg@theirc.org