Burundi | Development and Peace

Burundi

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Our Program

In Burundi, Development and Peace is working on issues related to agriculture and land, and is supporting the creation of cooperatives and existing small-scale farmers’ cooperatives.  

Burundi

The techniques learned by the farmers help them increase their crop yields. They grow enough to feed themselves and their families and to sell their surplus on the open market.

The organization is promoting democracy-building and citizen participation through civic education activities, by training observers to monitor human rights violations, and by supporting professional trainings and sports activities designed to pull communities together and build a culture of peace for young people on the outskirts of the capital city, Bujumbura.

 

The issues we work on to build justice:

Humanitarian assistance icon

Humanitarian assistance

Food icon

Food

Equality between women and men icon

Equality between
women and men

Peace and reconciliation icon

Peace and reconciliation

Democracy and citizen participation icon

Democracy
and citizen participation

 

The situation

Burundi is a country located in the Great Lakes region of central Africa. Its economy is primarily based on agriculture and livestock production. The country remains deeply scarred by the violent civil war of 1993- 2005, and is one of the world’s poorest nations, facing serious challenges in the areas of food security, education, health, and human rights.

Violence erupted in April 2015, when President Nkurunziza announced that he would run for a third term in office, and following his subsequent re-election in July 2015, there have been continues clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Bujumbura and its outskirts. This has resulted in the death of dozens of persons and the forced displacement of thousands of families.

News
June 6, 2016

Burundi has been plunged in a political crisis since April 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza made the very controversial announcement that he would be allowed to present his candidacy for a third term.

May 15, 2015

The association ADISCO (Appui au Développement intégral et à la Solidarité sur les Collines), a Development and Peace partner in Burundi, has just been chosen as a recipient of the 2014-2015 King Baudouin African Development Prize for its contribution to improving the incomes and living conditions of thousands of Burundian farmers.

July 8, 2014

On the night of February 9-10, residents of the northern neighborhoods of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, woke up to grieve for themselves and their fellow citizens. The neighborhoods were submerged as a result of major floods. Torrential rains caused a destructive mix of water and sediments to flood these areas, causing 76 deaths, including some children, and 708 injuries.

March 18, 2013

Development and Peace is greeting with joy the news of the release of 37-year-old journalist Hassan Ruvakuki.

October 14, 2011

Pacifique is part of the new wave of civil society leaders in Burundi. He is the president of the largest network of organizations in the country and the executive secretary of the Civil Society Coalition for the Monitoring of Elections—COSOME.

Materials

In Burundi, small-scale farmers who grow coffee face a number of challenges, especially when it comes to the meager amount of income they earn from the sale of their coffee. This graphic novel is devoted to those farmers who have united to improve their living conditions and those of their families. Through the adventures of Kaneza and Kagabo’s family, you will be introduced to the inspiring story of the rise of the movement to create farmers associations and cooperatives in Burundi. It is a path marked by resistance, struggle, solidarity and social change.

This graphic novel, illustrated by Burundian cartoonist Ilunga Albert Kaye, will immerse you in the world of Burundian coffee growers and their efforts towards sustainable agriculture that benefits us all.

Graphic novel

Includes a chronological history of key events that have shaped the Burundian coffee industry as well as a description of the production and distribution chain ‘from the coffee tree to our cup’.

It also includes the comic strip ‘Kaneza and Kagabo- Under the Shade of the Coffee Tree’


Download:
Animation guide

This guide includes a variety of activities, discussion questions and possible actions designed to accompany the graphic novel. We invite you to use it as a resource to create awareness among youth and young adults and to offer them an opportunity to demonstrate their solidarity in support of small-scale farmers everywhere.


Download:
Petition

We invite young people to become aware of the products around them. Does the shop around the corner offer fair trade coffee? Petitioning for change is a way for youth and young adults to engage in action and to raise awareness about the impacts of our consumer choices.


Download: