Organization Background

COBURWAS was founded in December 2005 with the mission of uniting, transforming, and developing communities in Africa through education, social entrepreneurship, volunteerism, and humanitarianism. Wereje Benson, Muhwezi Daniel, and Bahati Kanyamanza started the organization to meet the need for positive change in their community, Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.

The founders arrived in the camp, along with thousands of other Congolese, in 1997, fleeing violence, suffering, and violations of human rights in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, Kyangwali is home to over 20,000 refugees. COBURWAS, which stands for Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and Sudan, unites refugees across nationalities with the purpose of improving life in the camp. Currently, there are about 20,000 refugees living in Kyangwali, and over 300 are members of COBURWAS.