Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The Burundi Kids do indeed focus on education – at school and at work. Education is very important for children and young people in Burundi because it gives them a chance to make of their lives what they might dream of. They are given a vision. Unfortunately, many children still have to work in the fields so that their families can survive; they can never go to school.

Things are hardly any different at school than they are in Germany. Every child has their own timetable and should of course stick to it. Just like in Germany, they are taught maths, biology, geography, French and their mother tongue, Kirundi, for example. A school lesson lasts 45 minutes, then there is a short break. There is also a long break. In the afternoon, they have to do homework and prepare for the upcoming exams. Some also have lessons in the afternoon.
Primary school goes up to sixth grade. After year 10, they can choose between the language or science programme. And once they have passed their A-levels, they can go to university. However, the school system will soon change and adapt to the Anglo-Saxon school system. There will then be a ‘foundation school’, which will run from Year 1 to Year 9.

Our school has a maximum of 40 children per class (primary school). In the upper school there are usually fewer. For comparison: in a state school there are usually 100 pupils per class or more!

Lessons at the EPCM start at 7.30 a.m. and end at 11.30 a.m. for the kindergarten, and at 1 p.m. for the primary school and upper school. The upper school often has to come to class in the afternoon. The classes for the specialised baccalaureate also have to complete internships, for example in hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies or even in hotels and restaurants, depending on the subject area.

Most of the children in the home have no money unless they find a way to earn a little pocket money through a small job. However, as they naturally have enough to do for school, there is seldom or no time for this. Children who grow up in a functioning, wealthy Burundian family naturally have pocket money, just like children and young people in Germany. But that is a very, very small proportion! Most children in Burundi have to help their parents in the fields so that the family can feed itself.

Donations actually help the projects the most. We have to plan and ensure the care of the children in the homes, pay the salaries of the teachers at the school, and so on. But there are also other ways to support the projects: For example, you can send parcels with donations in kind; shoes are particularly popular. (Durable!) medicines are also useful (please only send after consultation!); you can also establish direct contact with the children, young people and colleagues from Burundi and make other people in Europe aware of Burundi.

For breakfast in the homes, everyone gets a warm porridge (made from maize, sweetcorn, peanut flour) with sugar. For lunch and dinner, they usually eat beans with rice, potatoes or maize. From time to time they have treats such as bananas, avocados or peanuts. This all grows in Burundi.

The children in the home usually share a large room with five or six other children. They sleep in bunk beds under their mosquito nets to avoid contracting malaria. Children from poor families often sleep on the bare floor or on a simple straw mat. Children from rich families in the city have their own bed with a mattress, just like German children.

Many Protestant movements, but not comparable with the Protestant-Lutheran faith in Germany. They are mostly (radical) movements from the USA. Many of these movements are considered sects. Another major religion represented is Islam.

The human hunters are offered a lot of money for albino body parts – mostly from criminal witchdoctors abroad for superstitious purposes and rituals. Imagine the following situation: Burundi’s population has experienced more than ten years of civil war, a time in which nothing and nobody could be trusted and in which people also suffered greatly morally. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, most people do not know what to eat. A desperate father who wants to feed his children and who may have experienced the long and terrible war may be capable of such a murder.

Yes, the home in Kayanza, where children with albinism are also accommodated, is guarded by the police day and night. The children are also escorted to and from school for their protection.

No, not in Burundi itself, but in the neighbouring country of Congo lie the volcanoes ‘Nyiragongo’ and ‘Nyamuragira’, both of which are still active and over 3,000 metres high.

It also gets dark in Burundi between 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. until the sun rises again early in the morning at 6 a.m. at the latest. This applies all year round because Burundi is almost on the equator.

There is an increased risk of several diseases in Burundi: Malaria, typhoid, meningitis, hepatitis A and B, and yellow fever are at the forefront. In addition, many people are infected with HIV and there are repeated outbreaks of cholera. Malaria is still the number one cause of death in Burundi.

There are enough carers to look after the children in the home. Of course, this is not comparable to the care of their parents, but they can still count themselves lucky, as the children on the street are completely on their own and have to try to fight their way through life on their own with all their strength.

There are also cars in Burundi: the confusing thing is that there are cars with the steering wheel on the left as well as cars with the steering wheel on the right, depending on whether they come from Europe or Japan. The cars from Japan are cheaper. But you drive on the right, just like here, so it would be ‘more correct’ to have the steering wheel on the left.

There are usually between 30-40 children living in a children’s home, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the space available.

The children go to school in the morning and have to do their homework in the afternoon like everyone else or go to afternoon lessons again. Tutors and carers help them with their homework and with preparing for class tests.

The joy is great when there is the opportunity to play with a ball or skipping rope or to read a picture book. But they are also creative here and invent little games with stones or make a football out of fabric.

Of course, we always make sure that there are enough beds available. But in exceptional cases, young children in particular are prepared to share a bed.

The civil war in Burundi, which lasted from 1993 to 2005, is responsible for over 300,000 deaths and over one million refugees. It also left 800,000 children orphaned.
As in neighbouring Rwanda, the war was triggered by power struggles between the two ethnic groups Hutu and Tutsi. Although only 14% Tutsi lived in Burundi, they held political and economic power for years after gaining independence from Belgium in 1962, which they secured through military dictatorships. This led to ongoing conflicts between the two ethnic groups.
In 1993, a Hutu president was elected for the first time (in the first ever democratic election in Burundi), but was assassinated after 100 days. War then broke out. While a large number of people tried to flee, others took up the fight in several different rebel groups. Although a final ceasefire was achieved in 2005, there is still great mistrust between Hutu and Tutsi due to their history.

It all depends on the wealth and mentality of the family. Wealthier families usually have their own domestic helpers, whereas in poorer families the children have to do the work. Children also help their parents with field work in the countryside. Many children cannot go to school because they have to help herd the goats, collect firewood, fetch water, …

The civil war has severely weakened the country and halted its development. Much has been destroyed and many people are suffering from the resulting poor living conditions and high unemployment rate. The frustration that this brings often leads to crime and corruption. There is also anger and mistrust between the ruling party and the opposition. The last serious skirmishes took place before the 2010 elections, and in the following years there were two or three attempts by nascent rebel groups, which were quickly brought under control by the army.

In Burundi, the official language is French, but children only learn it at school as they grow up speaking the local Kirundi language. This means that people who have not attended school may not even understand the language used in their own country, but only speak the national language, Kirundi. English is also frequently and increasingly used, as well as the East African trade language Kiswahili.

Martina (Wziontek) is actually an architect and founded burundikids as an association in 2003. Since then, she has run the organisation on a voluntary basis and flies to Burundi every year. Harald (Ernst) and Hanna (Knauff) are among the founding members and deal with bank transactions, send out donation receipts and design the website on a voluntary basis. Martina (Pump) helps with updating the content of the homepage and with the further development of the organisation. We have our local employee Philipp (Ziser), who went to Burundi as a volunteer in 2006. After three years of voluntary work, he was employed in Burundi in 2010 and has been working alongside Verena ever since. Verena (Stamm) is the focal point for everything. She has lived in Burundi since 1972 and founded the Stamm Foundation in 1999, of which burundikids became a partner in 2003. Our volunteer Gabi (Hahn) takes care of donation receipts and helps with the bookkeeping. We are very grateful for this valuable support and the newest member of the Cologne office is Britta (Rohr), who supports the organisation in fundraising. In addition, burundikids has a working group in the Karlsruhe area, which has been supporting burundikids with campaigns and events since 2008, as well as numerous partner organisations, schools and companies.

There are no real regulations for the size of the homes. However, there should of course be enough space for enough beds, tables for eating and studying and room to play. There are certain regulations from the Burundian ministry that our homes must and do comply with.

Of course, this depends on the respective profession. However, salaries cannot be compared with European standards, as a high salary in Burundi seems very low for a German. A teacher earns around 50 euros from the state, a doctor 300 euros, a guard 40 euros and a carpenter 70 euros a month.

As in Germany, you can learn almost any profession. From tailoring to hotel management to medicine. The only problem is that there are not enough jobs available and you can’t find a way to earn money despite studying or training. Another common problem is finding really good training programmes.