Burundi Archives | Page 4 of 5 | HOPE International

by Jean de Dieu Bizimana, Country Director, HOPE Burundi

On May 13, while I was in Lancaster, PA, for HOPE’s annual Leadership Summit, we received news of an attempted coup in Burundi. Though the coup failed, it was further evidence of the growing crisis in our country, where unrest and violence have become part of life in Bujumbura, the capital city, since late April, when our president announced he was running for a third term.

As the turmoil has dragged on, businesses and schools have closed, disrupting normal operations in our already fragile economy. Some HOPE Burundi staff members have gone to Rwanda for safety, part of the over 100,000 people who’ve fled the country.

In this atmosphere of uncertainty, I praise God that He is our constant, true source of hope. We say with the psalmist, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2).

I invite you to join me in praying for the people of Burundi, especially HOPE staff, church partners, and clients:

Pray for peace. Pray that God moves in the hearts of the nation’s leaders to act in the best interests of the people of Burundi. Pray that peace prevails and that we find a resolution to this conflict that truly helps our country move forward.
Pray for clients. With thousands leaving the country and many businesses closed, our clients—who rely on their businesses to support their families—are facing severe disruptions to their livelihoods.
Pray for staff. Pray that God protects them as they travel to support and encourage volunteers and savings group members.
Praise God for the solidarity of savings groups. In rural areas, savings groups have continued to meet, finding a source of solidarity and fellowship amid uncertainty and fear. Pray that they continue to find hope in times of prayer and worship.

Jean de Dieu has led HOPE Burundi’s savings and credit association (SCA) program since it started in 2012. Prior to assuming his current role, Jean de Dieu was actively involved in HOPE’s network as a board member of Turame Community Finance, HOPE’s partner in Burundi. He and his wife are blessed with three children.

Burundi has changed. And perhaps I’ve changed, now seeing this country and its people through different, older eyes. But perceptions aside, the people of Burundi now approach uncharted territory, collectively gathering their breath for a series of tests to the country’s democracy. And as the powers that be move and countermove in these weeks prior to national elections, I’m reminded of the proverb: When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

From the air, Burundi is an undulating patchwork of greens and browns—that much hasn’t changed. On the ground, the changes are a bit more evident—and it feels different from six years ago. The capital city, Bujumbura, is still its tropical, charming self, but with even more cars, moto-taxis, bicycles, and people navigating the clogged, albeit newly paved, roads. Signs of increased commerce are everywhere, with more air conditioned restaurants and swanky cafes—not to mention internet speeds that no longer rob users of their youth and sanity. These mostly urban developments impact only a small percent of Burundians, but something deeper is taking place throughout the country.

When I lived in Burundi from 2008 – 2009, I spoke with many families just returning from refugee camps and other camps for internally displaced peoples. They were starting their lives again after Burundi’s long civil war, and while many expressed hope for the future despite their present reality, others feared for their survival without employment or land to cultivate. Today, traveling outside of Bujumbura with my HOPE Burundi coworkers, I’ve met some of the people—church partners, pastors, field coordinators, and participating groups and individuals—that are part of HOPE’s savings and credit association program. And I’m hearing a different, more hopeful narrative.

Join HOPE in celebrating the clients featured in this year’s gift catalog, men and women using the gifts God has placed in their hands—talents, dreams, and hard work—to provide for their families and give back to their communities.

Full of entrepreneurial spirit, Francoise and her husband of 11 years, Etienne, know the joy of giving back. Francoise owns a thriving business in Burundi, where she and her four employees create colorfully patterned clothes. “I know how to sew everything,” she exclaims, “but my favorite things to sew are dresses.”

Etienne, also in the textile business, runs a shop in the busy Kamenge Market that sells fabric, thread, and other sewing supplies to the community. Together, they’re raising their five children, aged 2-9, as well as helping care for Francoise’s younger siblings. Six years ago, the couple adopted a sixth child whose parents were unable to care for her.

But even so, Francoise and Etienne didn’t have a safe place to save their money, leaving them few options in the face of unexpected expenses. When Francoise first heard about savings groups in November 2012, she was immediately intrigued by their focus on helping people improve their own lives. She joined the savings group Rukundo, meaning love, and began saving between $1.50 and $3 a month.

Unexpected community and provision

Janviere Kamana beams as she stands among waist-high sacks of cassava flour under the strong midday sun. Young men lift heavy sacks of the staple food into the bed of a truck bound for a distant boarding school. Nearby, chalk-white cassava dries in the sun, nearly ready to be ground into flour and sold to customers around Burundi. This is Janviere’s business—buying dried cassava and grinding it into flour for sale—and it’s thriving.

It took several years of perseverance and hard work to achieve this success. Janviere began her business in 2009 with just $30, buying 220 pounds of cassava to grind and sell. She made just enough to get by, but after rent was paid and immediate needs met, Janviere struggled to save any meaningful sum of money. Her business stalled, and she couldn’t afford to pay school fees for her children.

Provision & grief

Janviere’s husband died in 2000 during Burundi’s civil war—a brutal, 12-year conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Her family’s sole provider, Janviere raised six children, often borrowing money from friends to make ends meet. In 2011, two years after starting her cassava flour business, Janviere’s eldest daughter, Mary, died in a car accident. Mary’s young children—Anita, Eli, and Helen—came to live with Janviere, stretching limited resources even further. Continue Reading…

Pooling resources in Burundi

HOPE’s newest savings and credit association (SCA) groups in central Burundi are only a few months into their first cycle, and already group members are pooling their savings to start businesses and buy land together. Ryan Severns, HOPE’s microenterprise technical advisor in Burundi, gives us a video update from Karuzi Province, where our partnership with a local denomination is seeing fruit.

Archives For Burundi

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Amid crisis, four prayers for Burundi

I invite you to join me in praying for the people of Burundi, especially HOPE staff, church partners, and clients:

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Burundi has changed

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Creating community

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