Situated in the middle of Africa, with a surface area of 27,834 km2, Burundi is made up of hills and high plateaus. It has lived through many crises and is affected still by the consequences of them: lack of access to economic opportunities, food shortages, breakdown of the sanitation system. The return of hundreds of thousands of refugees, along with the huge demographic growth that goes with it, is an added challenge for the country.
Within this context, FH's programmes seek to:- Find sustainable solutions to the food crisis for the most vulnerable of families. Working with them, FH develops activities that generate income. FH trains farmers to produce more and of better quality and helps in the marketing of the crops. FH also provides seeds to agricultural groups and supports raising livestock, goat-herding in particular.
- Help farmers and their partners to look after the environment by reforestation and anti-erosion practices.
- Allow rural communities to have access to clean water.
- Allow for the fulfilment as well as good growth patterns for children within their social network. This programme integrates every aspect of child development: intellectual, through access to education; physical, through access to health care, as well as psychological, spiritual and social.
- Fight against malaria, AIDS and STD through training and giving affected people a chance through better nutrition and hygiene.
Results are visible at several different levels:
- To reduce malnutrition
- Improvement in the quality and quantity of agricultural produce.
- To improve the fertility of the soil and reduce erosion.
- To reinforce the capacity of farming associations.
- To reducing violence to women.
- To improve access to health care and to clean water
- To improve access to education for children
- To provide medical and psychological care for people affected with HIV.
- Four hundred associations of affected persons have been set up and are accompanied by project leaders. This helps rebuild family and social ties.
