CRS Work in Burundi
Catholic Relief Services' work is built on the premise of justice and dignity for all regardless of faith, ethnicity, or social status. Throughout the civil war, CRS Burundi has collaborated with other organizations, providing thousands of displaced and marginalized families with necessities such as blankets, containers, soap and plastic sheeting. But our efforts do not stop there. The agency also supports local partners in their efforts to bridge ethnic differences, and provides assistance in areas such as sustainable agriculture, HIV and AIDS and peacebuilding.
Abel Ndayizeye, CRS veterinarian, monitors his clients' animals carefully. CRS
Kirundi Integrated Development Program
CRS/Burundi is implementing a 3-year integrated watershed management program from 2003 to 2005 in Kirundo Province, in the extreme northwest of Burundi on the Rwandan border. The province is poor relative to other Burundian provinces and also relatively peaceful and stable with very few security incidents over the past five years. The goal is to improve food security and strengthen livelihoods among rural households through agriculture and watershed management.
Objectives
- Develop 150 hectares of wetlands
- Develop 4000 hectares of steeplands/watershed
- Make available improved seeds and other agricultural inputs throughout program area in collaboration with national and regional agricultural research institutes
- Improve access to markets by rehabilitating 50 km of rural roads
- Improve access to potable water by constructing 7 km of water pipe, 10 water sources, and six water troughs
- Create agro-enterprise opportunities within target communities
Key partners include the Diocese of Muyinga and the Burundi National Agricultural Institute (ISABU). As of January 2005, the program will be part of a consortium with Africare / CARE / World Vision, funded by USAID.
