Since 2021, the Gihanga Transit Center in western Burundi has served as the first point of arrival for both refugees seeking safety and returnees returning to their homeland after years in exile. Managed by the African Initiatives for Relief and Development (AIRD), the center supports hundreds of individuals and families each year, offering essential services such as registration, shelter, meals, and coordination with key humanitarian partners. For many, it is the first safe and stable environment they experience after long and difficult journeys.

The center has the capacity to welcome up to 450 people and is intentionally structured to provide urgent care and clear next steps. Upon arrival, families are given a clean and safe place to sleep, three nutritious meals a day, and assistance in accessing vital services. AIRD works with partners including UNHCR for identification and protection, and TPO.net for mental health and psychosocial support. This collaboration ensures that individuals and families are not only received but guided through the critical first stage of rebuilding their lives.

However, it is often a quieter corner of the center that leaves the most lasting impression; a fenced children’s playground located behind the main accommodation blocks. This colorful, welcoming space provides more than recreation; it brings healing. After days, weeks, or months on the move, the simple act of play signals to children and their parents that safety has finally arrived.
For seven-year-old Zola and many others, this playground becomes the moment childhood restarts. Swings, building blocks, and open laughter help replace fear with curiosity and connection.

“When we arrived, my son went straight to the playground with other children,” recalls Jeanine, a returnee after over a decade away.
“After two days, he already had friends and spent the whole day laughing. That sound meant more to me than any shelter or meal.”
Stays at Gihanga are brief, typically no longer than 48 hours, and every moment is used efficiently. Refugees are then transferred to the Cishemere Transit Site for continued support, while returnees are provided with transportation to their home communes.
The Gihanga Transit Center is more than a stopover point. It is a place where broken journeys start to mend.
AIRD is committed to ensuring that refugees and returnees have nutritious and warm meals, a safe place to rest, and comfortable journeys back home.