For almost 40 years, The Tanganyika Christian Refugee Service (TCRS) has been committed to reducing human suffering and poverty by empowering marginalized and displaced communities in Tanzania. A program of the Lutheran World Federation (LWR), TCRS has been involved in camps for refugees seeking asylum in Tanzania as well as in area development work with the rural poor in several districts of Tanzania. 

TCRS’s craft project provides a livelihood for refugees from Burundi who came to Tanzania fleeing political violence. Many of the refugees were women, with no means to support themselves and their families. At the height of the violence, TCRS ran four refugee camps in northwestern Tanzania, providing services to over 132,000 refugees. As refugees have begun to return to Burundi, TCRS and LWR continue to provide support to those who remain in Tanzania, as well as assisting refugees who have returned to Burundi to rebuild their lives. SERRV is currently working with both TCRS and LWR-Burundi to assist during this transition period as Burundian basket makers on both sides of the border look for outlets for the crafts.