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Report on Burundi Action 2025
Context of Our Work in Burundi
To understand the heart of our mission in Burundi, it is important to remember how everything began. My first visit took place in March 2023, only a few months after meeting Egide on 10th October 2022. What has followed since then is nothing short of a profound turning point in the life of his entire family. When I first met him, Egide’s situation was almost unimaginable. In 2020, at the height of the global pandemic when borders were closed and movement severely restricted, he had travelled on the back of a lorry from Bujumbura. His brother Jean Claude had sacrificed hundreds of dollars, a fortune for the family, in the hope that Egide might reach Kenya and discover a more promising future. None of them knew that the darkest part of his journey was still ahead. The trip to Nairobi was hellish. He was hunched behind the truck’s cabin, folded over himself, travelling across vast distances in Tanzania for days at a time. The driver treated him as nothing more than cargo and cared little about whether he survived. From time to time he tossed scraps of food or a bottle of water in his direction. That Egide arrived alive was, in the driver’s own words, a miracle. Yet even then his ordeal was not over. The driver demanded more money and threatened to call the police if he did not surrender his phone. He abandoned him in Mombasa. There, by grace alone, a woman took pity on him. She allowed him to travel with her by bus to Nairobi and insisted that he remain silent throughout the journey. Any word spoken with a Burundian accent could have led to immediate arrest, imprisonment or worse. Once he reached Nairobi, he again survived through providence. A fellow Burundian offered him shelter in a makeshift shack. By this point he was exhausted and seriously ill with malaria. Dying might almost have been easier, yet he found the strength to fight on. He began loading stones into lorries, a physically crushing job. Because he was foreign, his employer paid him very little and took advantage of him at every opportunity. Eighteen months passed. Egide was still far from home, isolated in a country where hostility toward other African nationals was common although unnoticed by tourists. During this time tragedy struck his family. His father died. His mother had already passed away from untreated hepatitis C two years before his departure. The economic situation was so desperate that his sister, Jeannette, was forced into prostitution in order to survive.
A Lifeline in the Storm
After the failed coup in 2015, most foreigners and NGOs left Burundi. The country had been
spiralling into economic free-fall. It was into this world of loss, instability and abandonment that I
encountered Egide. Without realising it at the time, I appeared to him as a lifeline thrown into a storm.
His employer seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him. He humiliated him regularly, spat at him and refused to pay him for twenty-hour shifts guarding his shop. He often had to dig through the
waste bins of a nearby Indian restaurant to find discarded food. That is where we first met. He shared this food with stray animals because there was nothing else to eat.
The Birth of Burundi Action
After the failed coup in 2015, most foreigners and NGOs left Burundi. The country had been
spiralling into economic free-fall. It was into this world of loss, instability and abandonment that I
encountered Egide. Without realising it at the time, I appeared to him as a lifeline thrown into a storm. His employer seemed to take pleasure in tormenting him. He humiliated him regularly, spat at him and refused to pay him for twenty-hour shifts guarding his shop. He often had to dig through the waste bins of a nearby Indian restaurant to find discarded food. That is where we first met. He shared this food with stray animals because there was nothing else to eat.
Giving Sam a Future
We support Jeannette and her little boy Sam who is now four years old. We help with their rent,
food and Sam’s education. She dreams of opening a small shop. She is very intelligent, generous
and dignified. I hope we can do more for her because she does not need our charity. She simply
needs a chance
Small Changes, Big Impact
After building the house for Tharcisse and his wife Eva, and thanks to Dorothy’s generosity, we bought a five hundred litre water tank so the family no longer need to risk their lives by walking down a steep and slippery path to the nearest river. Their son Evra, thirteen, has left Mbuye and
now lives with his brother Kelly, nineteen, under Jeannette’s watchful care. When I first met Evra he
was extremely thin and suffering from malaria. I felt deep compassion for him and his family. Today he is doing well at school and has begun learning French and English. I am incredibly proud of him. Last year we celebrated his birthday and Jeannette’s with two cakes, although the
celebration came eight months late. They had never celebrated a birthday before. It is something we take for granted in the west, along with Christmas celebrations, but for them it was a moment of pure joy.
From Street Children to Orphans
Patrice
In 2024, together with my good friend Patrice, we identified an opportunity to support street children with meals and medical care. Unfortunately, after we left the country, these boys were implicated in the theft of items from a parked car. The police became involved and Egide was reprimanded. He could have faced sanctions or fines if he had become their legal guardian. In the end the boys returned to their families or were placed in orphanages. We never discovered what happened afterwards. This left us uncertain about the next step. We had already identified a property that could have served as a home for these children. One day I suddenly had the idea of welcoming five orphaned children from their native village of Mbuye instead. Five children were quickly identified and brought to Bujumbura. When they arrived, they were extremely dirty and suffering from malaria, dysentery, jiggers and profound psychological trauma. Two had witnessed the murder of their mothers. They had no birth certificates and no way of proving their age or family origins.
Elade, Kevin, Joel, Jesus Beni
clothes which were donated. You
can see in their eyes look
completely disorientated.
Derrick the youngest, came a week
later.
Restored by Love and Dedication
Restored by Love and Dedication” Egide and Annick’s care has given five children a second chance at life.
For almost a year, Egide and his new wife Annick have worked tirelessly to rehabilitate the children. Day after day, they have given their time, energy, and love to help them regain their strength and dignity. The children are estimated to be between seven and nine years old, yet when they first arrived, they were weak, frightened, and uncertain of their future. I admit I was initially apprehensive about asking Egide to take on such a demanding responsibility. It was a heavy burden for a young couple just beginning their married life. Some relatives even criticised him. In their culture, a man is not expected to wash children, cook meals, or sweep the courtyard. Such tasks are often seen as beneath a man’s role. Yet for Egide, no task is beneath his dignity. He does whatever is needed, without hesitation or complaint, and serves his people with humility and courage.
whatever is needed and serves his people with humility and courage. He takes the children to the clinic when they are unwell. Two children nearly died in the early months. They survived thanks to his loving commitment. In less than a year, these children, who were close to death, have been given a second chance. They have been restored to life. This transformation is entirely due to Egide’s dedication and the support of Burundi Action. The children, whose names are Elade, Joel, Kevin, Jésus Beni and Derrick, started school in September and are progressing well. After school, Egide helps them with their homework. He teaches them with patience and kindness. He was not putting on a show for my benefit. He does this every day. During my recent visit I had little time for anything else, apart from providing seed money so that Jean Claude, who had sacrificed so much for his siblings, could open a small shop. He named it Chez Fabien. He also named his new baby boy Fabien. The child is now three months old and completely adorable. We helped by providing powdered milk. It costs eight dollars per tin and lasts only one week. Little Fabien has a hearty appetite.
A Tribute Through Action
A Tribute Through Action” Supporting girls’ education and honoring the memory of those lost, turning remembrance into meaningful change.
I also visited Sister Jacqueline, a Franciscan sister whom I first met in Ngozi last year. We had an excellent rapport and I was deeply impressed by the school she helped establish twenty-one years ago for boys. They have long dreamed of creating a similar school for girls. She has since relocated to Bujumbura and we were reunited with great joy. We spoke again about the urgent need for education for girls. They are severely under-represented in schools and many are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Finally I would like to honour the memory of three young women: Rukundo Marie Rose, Pétronie, and Anitha, who were murdered during the massacres of the 1990s. Their loss shaped their sibling’s life and the family’s history. Our work today stands as a living tribute to their memory. I am so proud of
A Tribute to Lives Remembered
Finally I would like to honour the memory of three young women: Rukundo Marie Rose, Pétronie, and Anitha, who were murdered during the massacres of the 1990s. Their loss shaped their sibling’s life
and the family’s history. Our work today stands as a living tribute to their memory. I am so proud of Egide’s family.
