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Caritas Burundi was founded by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Burundi on May 20th 1962 and officially recognized on July 20th 1962. The organization aims to be strong and dynamic, able to help bring about a reunified society in which human dignity is paramount and the rights of everyone are respected especially the poorest, most vulnerable, excluded and oppressed and to continue to advocate for environmental protection.

Thanks to its presence in the field for more than 50 years and with its 8 Diocesan Caritas and 146 parish Caritas, the organization has managed to carry out actions that reach the most remote areas of the country. Within this autonomous network, Caritas Burundi plays a coordinating role through the National Secretariat on behalf of all its special partners to complement their efforts and consolidate their resources.

This decentralized structure is reinforced by a large number of permanent institutions at the local level – parishes, basic ecclesial communities, authorized hospitals and dispensaries, orphanages, centers for the handicapped, parish charity committees, development committees – which make it possible to remain in contact with the people and to adjust the interventions on the ground

Burundi’s economy is mainly based on agriculture. As a result, many agricultural projects are in place. Those related to the social and economic reintegration of returnees include the agricultural services sector project funded by the French Embassy and the DRABIAF (farm income diversification) project funded by Trócaire (Caritas Ireland). The reception of returnees and assistance to Congolese refugees is carried out under a tripartite agreement between Caritas Burundi, UNHCR and WFP, while the fight against malnutrition in the eastern provinces (Canzuko and Ruyigi) is carried out by a consortium with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the International Medical Corps (IMC) under the Tubaramure project.

Along with the Global Fund, Caritas Burundi is involved in the fight against malaria and is responsible for the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets and awareness raising on this issue throughout the country. The GAVI program funds the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. Caritas also helps poor families with land ownership disputes. This work is done in partnership with the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (Isange project).

Another important element of Caritas Burundi’s work is helping to cope with the effects of AIDS. Caritas takes care of people affected by AIDS through psychosocial counseling. A prevention of mother-to-child transmission program is being implemented in 11 hospitals, 2 maternity hospitals and 87 health centers of the Catholic Church in Burundi. This project is funded by Cordaid (Caritas Netherlands).

Caritas Burundi works in partnership with the following organizations: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, UNHCR, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, GAVI, the World Bank (PRODEMA), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas Belgium, Caritas Netherlands (Cordaid), Trócaire (Caritas Ireland), Caritas Austria, Caritas Italy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and AIDS, the Embassy of France and USAID