Global Development Foundation Burundi
Global Development Foundation Burundi is a non-profit organization operating in Burundi.
It works with partners to implement its mission to
“Empower individuals and communities to build a sustainable future”.
Country basics
Burundi is located in the center of Africa.
It is a very densely populated country with 86% of the population living in the countryside.
Burundi currently has the lowest GDP per capita in the world together with one of the highest birthrates.
Focus areas
⦁ local environment (reforestation, soil retention, sustainable agriculture, water quality),
⦁ income generation,
⦁ education and
⦁ youth retention.
Ongoing programs:
@ Water: Bringing drinking water and process water for agribusiness and irrigation.
@ Tree planting: Reforestation, soil retention and income generation are drivers for this program.
@ Women's health and education: GDFB is partnering with the NGO Abarundikazi Period Movement to support young women to go to school every day of them month, even after they had started to have their Period. We provide female hygiene education to the young women together with washable menstrual pads and underwear so that they can attend school with no “accidents”. Women of this age group otherwise tend to drop out of school as they will not be able to keep up with their studies after staying home 4-5 days every month.
@ Electricity access: Electricity access is rare in the Burundian countryside. GDFB works on bringing solar powered lighting for families and institutions and to build a solar powered, electrified community center to enable adult education programs, entrepreneurial activities, youth retention and income generation.
@ Single parent support groups: GDFB is partnering with an organization of young women in Gitega (Umuco w’ubumwe (UU)) who are engaging in building support groups of single parents (mostly mothers) to assist one another and provide both financial support (they have a micro fund savings program) and emotional support. The group assists the single parents to send their children to school and is striving to assist with income generation to make sure that the children will succeed in school, because they have food to eat every day. These families are very vulnerable and most of the children in the program had no place to go to celebrate holidays etc. The goal is to build a strong and resilient next generation by building a caring community for their parents.
@ Indigenous people empowerment: The batwa community is very marginalized in Burundi. GDFB is working with the community to together develop a program to best enable them to lift themselves out of economic destitution and marginalization including tutoring the whole family to prepare the children to enter schooling after years of non-attendance.
@ Sanitation and hygiene: Access to soap is challenging for many rural Burundian families. Toilets are also rare in these areas and women’s health products are not common. GDFB is active both with regards to education around the issue and subsidizing soaps etc. Small measures like these can save lives in communities where healthcare is nearly non-existent.
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