World Relief Burundi

WR began its work in Burundi in April 2004 with a General Cooperation Agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Cooperation. Collaborating with the National Council of Churches of Burundi (CNEB) and the Baptist Union of Denmark, WR established Dutabarane, a network of 28 denominations and 3,000 congregations fighting HIV/AIDS and poverty, reaching over 150,000 households. In 2009, WR and Dutabarane launched the Savings for Life program, training over 150,000 members in VSLAs. From 2008, WR implemented a community health project in the Kibuye Health District in Gitega Province, mobilizing volunteers to reach 24,000 households monthly with life-saving health messages. Since 2012, WR has collaborated with UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health to implement an Integrated Community health project, training over 500 Community Health Workers to diagnose and treat children at the household level, benefiting more than 100,000 children. WR's mission is to empower the local church to serve the vulnerable. Established in 2004 with support from USAID, Turame Community Finance serves over 19,000 clients, mainly women, with branches in Bujumbura and Gitega. From 2006 to 2008, WR partnered with the Ministry of Education to implement a Vocational Skills Training project, training over 2,000 individuals in marketable skills and providing access to credit through Turame. Between 2004 and 2012, World Relief supported returning refugees and receiving communities, helping 7,700 families build homes, distributing agricultural resources, and constructing schools and a health clinic in Makamba. In 2016, World Relief partnered with UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health to mobilize over 1,500 Community Health Workers to conduct screenings for acute malnutrition, reaching over 140,000 children in Bujumbura. Since 2004, WR has impacted thousands of people in Burundi focusing on health, community development, child protection, GBV prevention, food security, and humanitarian aid.