Under the shade of a tree in Gabu, twenty young returnees sat in a circle. They had crossed borders, faced hardship, and carried silence home. Returning did not mean returning to acceptance. For many, the hardest journey was not migration itself but being treated as outsiders in their own villages.
A Country Losing Its Youth
Migration has become one of Guinea-Bissau’s defining challenges. In 2019, more than 103,000 citizens left the country, about 5.4 percent of the national population, and by 2022, the net migration rate stood at –3.6 per 1,000 people. With limited job opportunities, many young people continue to leave in search of security and income. Those who return often face unemployment, stigma, and disconnection. Without support, reintegration is fragile, and many risk migrating again. In regions like Gabu, migration has reshaped family structures and community life, weakening trust and local economies.
Dialogue
Reintegration has taken new shape through the Bright Professional Opportunities and Youth and Women’s Empowerment for Community-Led Sustainable Development in Guinea-Bissau (BPOE) project, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and managed by GIZ with partners including Tostan. In Gabu, returnees and neighbors now meet regularly through Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program, delivered in local languages. They come together to discuss human rights, shared responsibilities, and collective wellbeing.
For some, it was the first time their voices mattered. “I thought people didn’t want me back,” one returnee shared. “Now, I feel part of my community again.”
Across Bafatá and Sonaco, more than 1,996 Farmers’ Club members, including 1,661 women and several returnees, have taken part in leadership and literacy training facilitated by Tostan. Farmers’ Clubs are community-led groups that bring together local residents to plan and manage small development projects that strengthen livelihoods and social cohesion. These sessions became safe spaces where trust could be rebuilt and confidence could grow.
From Isolation to Leadership
Belonging soon turned into action. Returnees are now part of local decision-making through community-based management structures like Farmers’ Clubs, which operate in the same spirit as Tostan’s Community Management Committees (CMCs).
Out of 69 Farmers’ Clubs that received Community Development Grants of 1,000,000 XOF each (approximately 1,600 US dollars), 41 returnees were directly involved as beneficiaries. Together, they have invested these funds in income-generating activities such as market gardening, small shops, and social projects like school and borehole repairs.
Returnees have also joined training programs that strengthen practical skills. Across Guinea-Bissau, 5,650 people, 60% of them youth and women including returnees, have improved their employability through courses in leadership, agroecology, and marketing. In Gabu, many returnees now work in horticultural perimeters equipped with solar-powered irrigation systems, improving food security for their families and communities.
What Belonging Really Means
In Gabu, belonging is no longer just an idea. It is visible in daily life. Returnees who once stood apart are now members of committees, farmers’ groups, and new enterprises. They contribute to decisions on community funds and model what reintegration can look like when dignity and inclusion come first.
Reintegration is about more than employment. It is about being seen, heard, and trusted again. Through the BPOE project and Tostan’s education program, communities in Guinea-Bissau are showing that social cohesion is the most powerful path to stability.
For these returnees, coming home no longer means starting over. It means belonging again.