Caritas supports the community in Mahama camp to rebuild their lives, reinforcing long term development plans for restoring dignity.
Address: Avenue du Grand Séminaire, sn. PO BOX 2110, Bujumbura, Burundi
Telephone: +257 222 23 262 /+257 222 15 078 / +257 71133095 Fax: +257 222 24 055 / +257 222 15 077
Email: cedcarit@caritas-burundi.org
Facebook: Caritas Burundi Twitter: Caritas_Burundi
www.caritas-burundi.org
Caritas Burundi was founded by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi on 20 May 1962 and recognised on 20 July 1962. The organisation aims to be strong and dynamic, capable of helping to bring about a reunited society in which human dignity is paramount and the rights of everyone are respected especially the poorest, the most vulnerable, the excluded and the oppressed and to carry on advocating for environmental protection.
Thanks to its presence on the ground dating back more than 50 years, and with its 8 diocesan Caritas and 200 parish Caritas, the organisation has managed to carry out actions that reach the remotest areas of the country. Within this autonomous network, Caritas Burundi plays a coordinating role via the National Secretariat, on behalf of all its special partners, with a view to complementing their efforts and consolidating their resources.
This decentralised structure is enhanced by a large number of permanent institutions at local level – parishes, basic ecclesial communities, hospitals and authorised health centres, orphanages, centres for the disabled, parish charity committees, development committees – which enables keeping in touch with the people and adjustment of interventions on the ground.
Burundi’s economy is primarily based on agriculture. Therefore, many agricultural projects are in place. Those regarding the social and economic reintegration of repatriates include the Agricultural Services Sector Project (PASA) funded by the French Embassy, and the DRABIAF project (farm income diversification) funded by Trócaire (Caritas Ireland). Reception of repatriates and assistance to Congolese refugees is conducted under a tripartite agreement between Caritas Burundi, UNHCR and WFP, while the fight against malnutrition in the eastern provinces (Canzuko and Ruyigi) is carried out by a consortium with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the International Medical Corps (IMC) as part of the Tubaramure project.
Together with the Global Fund, Caritas Burundi is engaged in the fight against malaria and is responsible for the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and raising awareness on this issue throughout the country. The GAVI programme funds the fight against diseases that can be prevented by vaccination. Caritas also helps poor families in the event of land ownership disputes. This work is carried out in partnership with the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace Commission (Isange project).
Another important element of Caritas Burundi’s action is helping to deal with the effects of AIDS. Caritas supports people affected by AIDS through psycho-social counselling. A PTMC (Prevention of Transmission from Mother to Child) programme is implemented in 11 hospitals, 2 maternity wards and 87 health centres of the Catholic Church of Burundi. This project is funded by Cordaid (Caritas Netherlands).
Caritas Burundi works in partnership with the following organisations: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, UNHCR, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, GAVI, the World Bank (PRODEMA), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas Belgium, Caritas Netherlands (Cordaid), Trócaire (Caritas Ireland), Caritas Austria, Caritas Italy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and the Fight Against AIDS, the French Embassy and USAID.
Updates from Burundi
More than eighty women in Mahama refugee camp receive Caritas training of livelihood and now could feel welcomed in a community.
Caritas, working alongside Congolese authorities and other international agencies, has helped in the fight of Ebola by operating social and psychological assistance and food distribution programs.
Caritas lacks money to keep feeding Burundian refugees in Rwanda, even the elderly, new mothers and the sick.
Mahama is a sprawling refugee camp in Eastern Rwanda. Set up in 2015, it’s home to more than 50,000 Burundian refugees fleeing unrest.
Madeleine Rwasa is over 70 years old. She fled Burundi after the unrest caused in 2015 by President Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term of office. Like around 50,000 other Burundians, she lives in the Mahama refugee camp in eastern Rwanda near the Tanzanian border. Madeleine Rwasa is alone. Her three grandchildren have abandoned ...
Caritas responds to the needs clearly expressed by the beneficiaries themselves. In the tent at the Mahama Refugee Camp, a “family reunion” is underway to exchange ideas on the project, their satisfaction, their needs, questions and ideas.
Concern is growing as refugees continue to arrive in Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the violence in Burundi itself, provoked by a political crisis, is not abating.
Burundi has been on edge since April 2015 when its president, Pierre Nkurunziza, decided to run for a controversial third term in office. The political drama sparked bloody street protests, a failed coup attempt and plunged the country into its worst crisis since the end of a civil war in 2005.
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