Empowering refugees through higher education in Rwanda

Set in the oldest refugee camp in Rwanda, the Kepler Kiziba Campus provides learners like Mupenzi, Alice and Mawezo the opportunity to earn a university degree – and secure a brighter future.

An estimated 125,595 refugees and asylum seekers, predominantly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), are registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Rwanda. Over 90 per cent of this population lives in one of Rwanda’s five refugee camps, including the country’s oldest camp, Kiziba.

Kiziba is home to a predominately young community – around 60 per cent of the people living there are under 24 years old. Ensuring youth have access to education is therefore paramount to humanitarian efforts at the camp.

 

The Kepler Kiziba Campus 

Since 2015, the non-profit organization Kepler has collaborated with the UNHCR, among others, to provide higher education opportunities to refugees living in the Kiziba Refugee Camp.

Through a partnership with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), the Kepler Kiziba Campus provides refugee learners with an opportunity to earn a US-accredited degree.

Kepler also addresses learners’ literacy and numeracy challenges, strengthens their English-language and ICT skills, and promotes critical thinking for business and sustainable development.

To date, over 300 refugees learners have enrolled in the Kepler Kiziba programme. For alumni Mupenzi, Alice and Mawezo, earning a degree from Kepler has paved the way for a more financially secure future.

 

The Kiziba Refugee Camp

As of February 2023, Kiziba was home to more than 15,000 refugees, the majority of whom are Congolese.

Some Kiziba residents, like Mupenzi, have lived at the camp for more than 20 years.