Meet Justine Uwase, a Congolese refugee residing in Mugombwa refugee camp in Rwanda. She arrived there in 2013 after war conflicts in Congo. Her father died in the war and she fled with her 6 siblings and her mother across the border.
Despite receiving support from UNHCR, life has been difficult. Her older sister was employed by one of the international NGOs for a while, but this stopped during the Covid pandemic. When Justine finished her high school studies, she was trying to also find a job to help her mother raise the rest of her siblings. Her initial attempts to start a small business inside the camp did not work out because of the pandemic and insufficient business management skills.
At the end of 2021, OffGridBox deployed their box in Mugombwa and Justine was among the first ones to apply for the BoxKeeper job. She believed in the company because her family was among the first households to buy the family lighting kit. And seeing how useful it was, she was motivated to work for OffGridBox.
Apart from learning business management from OffGridBox, she is now able to be financially independent. From her monthly salary, she contributes to her family savings that allowed them to buy a cow that helps them generate further income. In the future, Justine wants to continue her studies at university and then use the skills she acquired at OffGridBox to start her own business!
Justine and her colleagues at Mugombwa refugee camp
This is Emmanuel Bigirimana, a Burundian refugee who arrived in Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda in 2016. When he arrived, he couldn’t find a job for a long time. He was a security guard in Burundi before the political conflicts in Burundi started, but, he couldn't do the same job in Mahama since there were no opportunities in the camp.
Emmanuel in his shoemaker’s shop, next to the OffGridBox in Mahama camp.
One of his neighbours was a shoe maker, and was moving to Kigali for another job opportunity. Emmanuel thought that he could perhaps take over the job. He started learning in 2018 and after 3 months he was at a good level of repairing shoes.
There was a good level of clientele in the camp for his new business. But at that time, Emmanuel didn't have enough capital to start buying his own raw materials to make brand new shoes. And the lack of electricity inside the camp was a big challenge. He started to go to host communities where the electricity grid reached. He paid for a place which included electricity and spent time travelling from his workshop to the host community to do small repair works that needed electricity.
When OffGridBox arrived in the camp, Emmanuel realised that it was a good opportunity to get power nearer to his home, so he approached the company and he was allowed to set up shop near the box which is located close to the biggest market inside the refugee camp. It was a great opportunity to put him closer to his clients and he no longer had to spend time travelling to the host community.
It has been 9 months since Emmanuel started working with OffGridBox. He is now repairing shoes as well as making brand new shoes, which requires access to machines and electricity that he didn't have before. He has more than doubled his income. On top of that, he is creating more employment opportunities for refugees in Mahama camp, who resell his shoes in communities nearby.
For its programs in Rwanda, OffGridBox has been receiving funding from EEP Africa, EDP A2E and the DOEN Foundation. If you think this story of how OffGridBox provides access to power and helps to create income generation for refugees in Rwanda, you can support us here.