The USD45-dollar per person arrangement set by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees prodded a total of 10,500 displaced Burundians to return home since August last year. “The cash grant has proven to be an efficient means not only to address immediate needs of arriving returnees, but also, in many cases, a basis for good reintegration,” UNHCR Burundi representative Bo Schack declared. The official pointed out that the monetary incentive was a very effective strategy to lure the uprooted Burundians to return. “When I arrived in my village, there was nothing left except my ruined empty house. I had to rehabilitate it with new doors and windows and repair the leaking roof. I am using part of the financial allocation for these repairs and I will use the rest to buy a small plot of land for farming and to start a small business at the market,” said Melchior Bavumiragiye, one of the many returnees benefiting from the cash grant. (Press release: Cash grants help Burundian returnees rebuild their lives/UNHCR)
