David Niringiyimana and Innocent Nzayituriki were little boys when they fled war and genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. Now in their 20s, the close friends still live in the Gihembe refugee camp in Rwanda, waiting for peace to return to their home country.
Established in 1996, Gihembe is a kind of limbo to more than 19,000 refugees. They receive food, medical care, and basic education from humanitarian organizations, but lack incentive and opportunity to change their circumstances. They cannot return to the Congo until peace returns and they are not citizens of Rwanda.
When Innocent discovered the Cisco Networking Academy at the Gichumbi Business Development Center (BDC), he realized that developing information and communications technology (ICT) skills could be a way for both him and David to move out of the camp and improve their prospects. Refugees like David Niringiyimana and Innocent Nzayituriki walk the 45 minutes from the camp to seek opportunities at the BDC.
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