RWANDA
SOUTH AFRICA
MALAWI
LEBANON
KENYA
RWANDA
OVERVIEW
Rwanda hosts around 145,000 refugees, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Although refugees in Rwanda do have freedom of movement and the right to work, they remain economically disenfranchised and struggle to access high-quality schooling, particularly university.
Even for Rwandan nationals, access to higher education remains a challenge:
GEM has partnered with Kepler in Rwanda since 2013, starting with a campus in Kigali and expanding to Kiziba refugee camp in 2015.
KIGALI
GEM partners with Kepler in Kigali to provide both Rwandan nationals and refugees with a more traditional, full-time study program, offering a multitude of supplementary modules, support services and on-site housing. Each year, thousands of applicants apply for a limited number of spaces, with women now making up 50% of each cohort.
GEM students in Kigali are highly competitive with well-honed professional and leadership skills. The competency-based degree enables them to gain familiarity with an international workplace and to pursue new opportunities to grow their work experience.
KEY CHALLENGES
The GEM and Kepler partnership aims to address the challenges faced by refugee students. In Kigali refugee camp, these include:
English language levels
Digital literacy
Gender equity (for women)
Access to healthcare
Access to mental health support
BY THE NUMBERS
Average 4-year graduation rate for GEM students in Kigali, Rwanda
Average 4-year graduation rate for US public universities
Average 4-year graduation rate for US private universities
Average global MOOC completion rate
2020 total students enrolled
Female to male gender ratio
Average age
Languages spoken
(other than English)
GEM’s average cost per student per year
US public in-state average cost per student per year
US public out-of-state average cost per student per year
US private average cost per student per year
STUDENT BLOG
Impact of COVID-19 for a GEM student in Rwanda
Benita, GEM Student from Kepler Kigali
Rwanda is a country in the center of Africa and part of the East African Community. On 14 March 2020, the first case of a person suffering from COVID-19 was discovered in Rwanda. At the time of writing this, Rwanda has 4,836 active cases, 29 people have died and 3,125 have recovered. This really impacts a lot of the country in different ways that also impact us as students – in terms of education, employment and living standards.
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As a GEM student, I was enrolled in my BA and it was the third month. We were all interested in studying as well as progressing on our College for America (CFA) projects. Starting from March, schools closed since it wouldn’t be easy for the students to continue if they attended classes as usual. Lucky enough, as GEM students, we are used to studying online and we had to change the working environment. My siblings and relatives were all at home. We were 12 people under one roof. It was so difficult to concentrate on academics and attend classes online since it was my first time. This was a difficult situation, but we managed to cope. Some of the tips that helped me to do this was adjusting my room and adding a table where I could study.
Dressing up professionally, and having a schedule when people were asleep (late at night) helped me to accomplish my studies completing my BA over seven months. I was done with all academic-related activities.
Unemployment is the other crucial issue that the country is facing. During this pandemic, all people were supposed to stay home and not work at all for 14 days. Unfortunately, our relatives who were employed became unemployed and others couldn’t manage to go to work. My dad’s contract was terminated and just a few of us were working from home. This means that the sources of income were blocked and there was no way of getting a job. I had an internship under GEM and it helped me so much to support my family in that situation.
Personally, I found being a GEM student a blessing. It helped me in this situation and I realized how lucky I am. Considering this year, I would say I am grateful. It enabled me to look at issues from another point of view. I managed to discover my capabilities in this situation, learning it from Kepler and CFA projects. Thanks to GEM for this opportunity.
KIZIBA REFUGEE CAMP
Kiziba camp is Rwanda’s oldest existing refugee camp, opening in 1996 after the start of civil war in the DRC. Over 17,000 Congolese refugees remain in the camp, located on a remote hilltop in the Western Province of Rwanda.
GEM students in Kiziba camp are persevering and able to overcome unexpected barriers. Highly respected in their community, graduates are transforming their communities and families’ lives as they pursue professional careers and seek leadership positions in the camp. Several years of special preparation programs have enabled the initiative to achieve gender equity.
KEY CHALLENGES
The GEM and Kepler partnership aims to address the challenges faced by refugee students. In Kiziba refugee camp, these include:
English language levels
Digital literacy
Gender equity (for women)
Access to healthcare
Access to mental health support
Internet connectivity
Access to childcare
Food insecurity
BY THE NUMBERS
Average 4-year graduation rate for GEM students in Rwanda’s Kiziba Refugee Camp
Average 4-year graduation rate for US public universities
Average 4-year graduation rate for US private universities
Average global MOOC completion rate
2020 total students enrolled
Female to male gender ratio
Average age
Languages spoken
(other than English)
STUDENT BLOG
The Effects of COVID-19 in the Kiziba refugee camp, Western Rwanda
Henry, GEM Graduate from Kepler Kiziba, Master of Science in Global Health Delivery, Graduate from University of Global Health Equity
The Kiziba refugee camp is home to more than 16,000 people, most of whom are Congolese who have fled the war in their country many years ago.
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As the world is plagued by COVID-19, refugees across the globe are not at ease. Refugees generally have poor health compared to people in their home countries. So, COVID-19 came to worsen the problems they were having. These consequences have led to a decline in the lives of refugees in the Kiziba camp. Some of the consequences of COVID-19 in the camp include food shortages, lack of daily services and school closures.
COVID-19 and food shortages
Refugees from the Kiziba camp are supported by the assistance of money for rations from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through the World Food Program (WFP). The money is used to buy food brought by people from outside the camp, or refugees themselves can travel to market towns near the camp to shop. That is the daily routine. When the Rwandan government announced the lockdown of all activities within the country due to COVID-19, the Kiziba camp was also locked down. At this time no one was allowed to leave or enter the camp. This led to an increase in famine in the Kiziba camp and changed the way refugees used to live daily.COVID-19 and refugees’ education
Kiziba Camp is one of the few refugee camps in the world with universities. Kepler is a partner of an American university, Southern New Hampshire University. During the lockdown, Kepler, like many other universities and schools in the country, suspended its operations. The only way to carry on with studies, was for students to continue their studies from home through the appropriate online channels. This requires adequate infrastructure. In the camp, there was not enough infrastructure that was supposed to help the students learning from home. Although Kepler provided computers for students to use at home, the barriers persisted, such as electricity and internet access. On the other hand, other refugee students are studying in high schools, colleges and universities outside the camp across the country. When schools were suspended nationwide under COVID-19 lockdown, students returned to the camp, but because the infrastructure was not enough, they were not able to continue their studies.COVID-19 and daily services
Similarly, refugees from Kiziba camp are provided with daily services by UNHCR and its partners, including medical services, construction, water and more. During the lockdown, the staff at the Kiziba camp moved their work home. With this new model of work, it is difficult for refugees because there is no way for them to apply for and receive services online. This has slowed down daily services.COVID-19 should be a lesson for organizations working in refugee camps to prepare for emergencies that could happen in the future. Disaster preparedness would enable organizations operating in refugee settings to continue to assist refugees in providing various services, even in the event of an outbreak.