Youths in Action: Youth Volunteers Support their Community and Peers

“As a refugee, I never imagined I would be able to get educated and strive for my future. I can still dream,” says Issac, 22, was born in Gihembe camp in Rwanda, the camp established in 1997.

Life as a refugee youth can be a constant struggle in uncertainty. The limited education opportunities beyond the secondary level, lack of employment opportunities, and living in crowded camps with limited foreseeable future make it difficult. This is in addition to increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence, early pregnancy, drug abuse, and loss of hope.

However, many youths are extremely motivated to change the situation for the better, taking active roles in their community and motivating their friends.

“I have always wanted to add value to my family, community, and the world,” says Issac. He is working as a Youth Volunteer with Prison Fellowship Rwanda, UNHCR partner in Gihembe Refugee Camp in Rwanda.

In Rwanda, UNHCR is working with many youth volunteers who are motivated to serve their community. The volunteers contribute tremendously in many areas, such as child protection, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, and running recreational activities for children. Especially during this time when the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many lives, the youth volunteers’ contribution to the community is essential in preventing the spread of the disease.

“We encourage people to put on face masks, wash hands, use hand sanitizer, and encourage people to keep distance in-between,” Issac added.

Youth volunteers contribute more to the community by being a motivation to their peers.

Olive Confiance, 24, a Congolese refugee in Mahama camp, has decided to volunteer to encourage girls to be confident and come forward to contribute to the community instead of limiting their potential to the traditional norms of staying home.

“Girls can get educated, work, and make decisions too. I started volunteering because I no longer wanted to keep quiet and longed to make changes to my life myself. I dropped out of high school, but such past would not stop me anymore in pursuing what I want to achieve in my life.”

Olive thinks that she can be an inspiration to other girls and make them realize there are many opportunities that girls also can enjoy. To her, a lot of girls are limiting themselves because of their past or mistakes they have made. However, she believes that they still have a lot to achieve, and the past has to be a lesson rather than a limitation for the future.

“I want to encourage other girls not only to think out of the box but also to move out of the box.”

UNHCR Rwanda supports youths to take ownership in supporting their community and peers. Based on community-based protection principles and Seven Core Actions for Refugee Youth, UNHCR Rwanda provides opportunities for youths to voice their ideas and be the agents of change in protecting themselves and their peers.

This is possible in Rwanda thanks to the partnerships with the United States of America, the European Union, Denmark, Japan, Germany, and Canada.

Edited by Arum Cho, UNHCR