Gihembe Refugee Camp Facts and Statistics
Rwanda is a country in Africa that is located in the region currently affected by the ongoing tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) other African nations. It has been hosting refugees for several decades, and at the same time has been receiving and reintegrating thousands of Rwandan returnees. The majority of these refugees are hosted in camps, and Gihembe is one of these settlements. The others are Kigeme, Kiziba, Mahama, Mugombwa, and Nyabiheke.
As of March 2015, Gihembe was hosting 14,774 individuals in a settlement that is built on 40-hectares of land. It is located in Byumba town in the Northern Province and was established in December 1997 to host Congolese refugees who fled conflicts in the Eastern DRC. They were initially hosted at Mudende camp in the Rubavu District, but were relocated to Gihembe which is far from the border. This was following attacks by armed groups at Mudende, which led to the deaths of many of these refugees. With so many people squeezed into such a small, densely populated country, and with more refugees flooding into the country due to the current instability in Burundi, Rwanda is struggling to accommodate the growing number of displaced individuals. …show more content…
In Gihembe, the unstable supply of potable water and the lack of decent housing and latrines are just a few of the problems the current residents face. Here are more facts and statistics about the refugee camp.
Population
- There are about 3,500 households, with an average family size of 5 individuals.
- More than half of the camp population is aged 18 years old and above, mostly survivors from the 1997 Mudende Refugee Camp massacre.
- Those who are aged 17 and under were most likely born in the camps (3,570 girls and 3,524 boys according to UNHCR's records for March 2015).
Rwanda is a country in Africa that is located in the region currently affected by the ongoing tensions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) other African nations. It has been hosting refugees for several decades, and at the same time has been receiving and reintegrating thousands of Rwandan returnees. The majority of these refugees are hosted in camps, and Gihembe is one of these settlements. The others are Kigeme, Kiziba, Mahama, Mugombwa, and Nyabiheke.
As of March 2015, Gihembe was hosting 14,774 individuals in a settlement that is built on 40-hectares of land. It is located in Byumba town in the Northern Province and was established in December 1997 to host Congolese refugees who fled conflicts in the Eastern DRC. They were initially hosted at Mudende camp in the Rubavu District, but were relocated to Gihembe which is far from the border. This was following attacks by armed groups at Mudende, which led to the deaths of many of these refugees. With so many people squeezed into such a small, densely populated country, and with more refugees flooding into the country due to the current instability in Burundi, Rwanda is struggling to accommodate the growing number of displaced individuals. …show more content…
In Gihembe, the unstable supply of potable water and the lack of decent housing and latrines are just a few of the problems the current residents face. Here are more facts and statistics about the refugee camp.
Population
- There are about 3,500 households, with an average family size of 5 individuals.
- More than half of the camp population is aged 18 years old and above, mostly survivors from the 1997 Mudende Refugee Camp massacre.
- Those who are aged 17 and under were most likely born in the camps (3,570 girls and 3,524 boys according to UNHCR's records for March 2015).