Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, ARC established relief programs to rebuild the country's health structure and ease the repatriation of large numbers of refugees who had fled the violence.

Today, ARC works with 55,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - people who've been displaced by continuing violence and insecurity near their homes. The ultimate goal is to help Congolese refugees return home when they're ready and the security situations allows it. Until then, ARC continues to maintain three major refugee camps and provide comprehensive services to Congolese families.

Milestones:

In 2005, the government of Rwanda asked ARC to build a refugee camp at Nyabiheke to accommodate 5,000 new refugees from the DRC. ARC quickly constructed roads, bridges, shelters, latrines, storage warehouses, and health centers, and began receiving refugees within a month of the request. The culminating achievement of the construction efforts was the drilling of a borehole to tap an aquifer, which provides 100,000 liters of naturally purified, filtered water per day. In the fall of 2007, ARC expanded Nyabiheke Camp to receive 2,000 more people fleeing increased violence.

In 2006, ARC worked with UNICEF and UNHCR to build preschools and primary schools for refugee children in ARC's camps. ARC launched new HIV/AIDS treatment, awareness and prevention programs in Nyabiheke and Gihembe camps. And we continued our income generation and vocational training programs in all three ARC refugee camps in Rwanda.

In 2011, camp residents and ARC staff built the first playground in the refugee camps in Rwanda, and there are plans to build more in 2012. They also built a tilapia pond in the camp with the goal of raising fish to feed members of the camp community suffering from anemia.

In 2012, ARC began engaging in environmental protection activities in all the camps in Rwanda, including land terracing to prevent erosion and tree nursery programs. In our health facilities, 25,490 refugees received services including maternal and child care, emergency obstetrics, family planning and treatment for sexually transmitted infection.

Current Activities:

In 2013 and beyond, ARC will continue to provide essential health care, water and sanitation, infrastructure and income generation opportunities in the camps. ARC is also in the process of launching programs in DRC. If conditions can stabilize there, prospects for repatriation will improve dramatically for the Congolese refugees in Rwanda. ARC is poised to help refugees return home in the event of peace in the DRC.