2011 - 2018
Burundi aid project
We are committed to education in Cankuzo!
Since 2011, Mosca GmbH and World Vision have been supporting an education project in the district of Cankuzo in the eastern lowlands of Burundi, one of the poorest regions in the country. With this project, World Vision aims to improve primary school education and reading opportunities for children in Cankuzo.
"Thanks to the support of the Mosca company and other sponsors from Germany, a lot has already been achieved in recent years: In close cooperation with all the local people involved, we have already built and equipped an elementary school in the village of Gatete with six classrooms in two disabled-accessible building blocks, sanitary facilities, a staff room, blocks of flats for teachers and a small library," says World Vision.
The school now has space for around 500 pupils and is considered a showpiece in the entire region. We were also able to build a multi-generational library with two reading rooms, a reception area, a toilet and a storage room in Cankuzo. The library is used by young and old!
Initial situation
Burundi is a small and densely populated landlocked country in East Africa. The country is one of the poorest in the world. Burundi's history is characterized by conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. A civil war raged from 1994 onwards, but despite a peace agreement in 2000, violence continued to flare up. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. The country has stabilized since 2009, but the traces of the war are still visible - even in the education system!
Many school buildings and important infrastructure were destroyed and have still not been rebuilt. Qualified teachers fled at the time and have never returned.
Surface area:
Inhabitants:
Life expectancy:
doctors per 100,000 inhabitants:
Infant mortality:
Child mortality up to 5 years:
Elementary school enrollment rate:
Children who reach the 5th grade:
Illiterate people:
27,830 km²
9 million
48.5 years
3
60 out of 1,000
190 out of 1,000
60 %
67 %
41 %
This was achieved from September 2013 - August 2014
- Elementary school in Murehe built and equipped with 8 classrooms, toilet facilities, an office for the school administration and a small library
- Sanitary facilities and 2 rainwater tanks installed
- Hand-washing facilities installed in front of all classrooms
- Around 7,300 new books delivered to libraries in the project area
- Around 3,000 child-friendly reading booklets (Shellbooks) produced locally and distributed to libraries and reading camps
- Teacher training courses carried out to improve the quality of teaching (e.g. sustainable and creative promotion of children's reading skills)
- Educational events for teachers, pupils and villagers on the importance of education and children's rights
What was achieved in 2014
In 2014, World Vision built another school in close cooperation with the local population and the education authority: the new elementary school in the village of Murehe. The old school building was dilapidated, poorly equipped and only had space for just under 200 pupils. The new school has eight spacious classrooms and an additional building for the school administration. Lessons no longer have to take place in shifts. Instead, all children can be taught at the same time and according to their respective grade level. Thanks to the construction of two water tanks, all pupils and teachers have access to clean water.
The new school was opened just in time for the start of the new school year in September 2014. More than 650 people from the surrounding area attended the inauguration ceremony and expressed their great joy and gratitude. In the meantime, 233 boys and girls are already attending the elementary school, which is fully equipped for the disabled. Over time, even more pupils are expected!
What was achieved in 2015
In 2015, together with the residents and local partners, we renovated the elementary school in Bugendajoro and equipped it with 75 desks (the building had been destroyed twice during the civil war). The 997 primary school pupils were delighted with these measures and the opening ceremony, which took place in 2015. In order to minimize the number of children in a class, the need for primary school teachers is constantly increasing. For this reason, a total of 394 primary school teachers were trained in 2015. Education is the key to a better life - for this reason, we educated over 1,000 parents about the importance of education in 2015 and, as reading and writing are the foundations of a good education, over 2,000 children took part in reading camps this year. The more than 17,000 reading booklets produced locally were mostly distributed at reading camps. In addition, a number of training courses were held in 2015 for members of child protection committees, for example, as well as over 50 hygiene training courses for elementary school.
What was achieved in 2016
Last year, together with the families and the local government, we built three new classrooms with latrines at the elementary school in Kinombe, a village in Cankuzo. Now 199 children have a safe and clean place to learn. The teachers can also work better with the pupils as there are no longer so many children squeezed into one room. The new toilets and hand-washing basins prevent the spread of diseases caused by contaminated water, for example. This allows the children to concentrate better on their studies. In addition, more than 5,000 children took part in reading camps this year (3,000 more than last year), where they are taught to enjoy reading. It is not only in Burundi itself that we can report successes, as progress was also made in Germany in 2016. For example, 45 members of action groups were trained in how to get children back into school.
What was achieved in 2017
Elementary school in Kigamba is being expanded (3 classrooms, 1 reading room, sanitary facilities, extension for school administration).
Teachers are taught pedagogical and didactic skills so that they can inspire pupils to read in the long term.
Children's reading skills are regularly tested using tried-and-tested, child-friendly methods.
The out-of-school environment (parents, guardians, neighbors and community members) is supported in making reading "palatable" to children (e.g. with reading camps, which are increasingly being set up in the villages).
Books are provided and people learn how to produce child-friendly and everyday reading materials themselves.
Mini libraries are set up and equipped.
Project completion 2018
Mosca has been supporting the education project in the central African country of Burundi in cooperation with World Vision since 2011. The aim is to stabilize the school system through renovated school buildings, well-equipped libraries and qualified teachers in order to achieve sustainable success. This has been achieved in the seven years of support. Around 12,500 children, young people and adults benefit from the numerous measures in Cancuzo.
The project in Burundi was completed in 2018.
