OUR MISSION
Our mission is to enhance social justice and human dignity by providing educational opportunities, economic development, food security and nutrition to marginalized, low-income communities in Burundi.
DREAMING FOR CHANGE
THE POWER OF PORRIDGE
Are you thinking ahead to gathering with your friends and family this month? At Dreaming for Change we are hoping you will consider a gift of kindness to help us feed our Burundi community. We feed 385 children and 70 mothers each week. The power of porridge is making a huge difference.
OUR WORK
SUCCESS STORIES
Jacqueline, the construction worker
My name is Jacqueline and I am from Butanuka. My husband had been very sick and he’s disabled. You could understand how hard it is to be working alone to feed seven children and my husband.
Dreaming for Change gave local women a chance to earn cash income by offering job opportunities on a construction site. My major task here is to bring construction materials like bricks, stones and clay closer
to masons.
The money I earn here helps support my family. I have also been able to cover my husband’s medical expenses. As I work alone, my husband is disabled, this job helps me put food on the table for my seven children.
Rose Haragakiza
My name is Rose Haragakiza and I am from Gatagura village located in Butanuka zone. When we have money, we used to buy vegetables like amaranth or cabbage to the local market and sometimes we could not afford the price.
During one of the training sessions of the kitchen gardens production conducted by Dreaming for Change in Butanuka, I learnt about the benefits of kitchen gardening and started being inquisitive about the initiative. I received the kitchen garden kit distributed by D4C. After receiving the kit consisting of seeds of 3 types of vegetables, I started sowing in the backyard of my house by following the instructions given by the field officer. I took care of the garden, watering the seeds at regular intervals, feeding them with organic manure from time to time and keeping the garden clean. Today, my family, children and I eat vegetables everyday.
Marie Ange Kaneza, a preschool student
My name is KANEZA M. Ange and I am 5 years old. At school I can write numbers, I also like to color, draw and I can also sing. Before coming to school I used to play alone at home, I used to wash the dishes, but I could not write, nor read, nor color. Today, I am able to count in French and in English. I can read the vowels like a, e, i, o, u; and I have new friends their names are Parfait, Bernadette, Chantal, Pacifique. I like to come to school because we study counting through songs.
Mrs Kabudesiya Miburo
I am Kabudesiya Miburo from Butembe village and I am the member of “DUSHIGIKIRANE” (LET’S SUPPORT EACH OTHER) saving association. We were very poor and Dreaming for Change came and asked us to team up into groups to form a saving and loan association. The trainer taught us everything about developing a culture of saving and learn new skills and new ways of generating income.
We are a group of 25 members which meets every Monday. Each member saves a minimum amount each week, out of which an allocation is made to a social fund that supports members in times of need. When our group was able to make loans to members who wanted to start a new business, I borrowed money and I bought a female goat (a doe) that was about to multiply. When the goat gave birth, I waited till some weeks and sold the baby goat for a good profit. I feel very proud, today I have an additional income source to provide for my family. I have paid my loan back and I am waiting to take the second round loan. I want to expand my business and buy a cow. My husband is also happy and encourages me to be an active member of the group.
Anitha Niyonkuru with her 3 children
My name is Anita Niyonkuru from Munyinya village; I am a mother of three children. My husband has been involved in stealing things and had been imprisoned many times due to his bad behavior. I am the only one who feed my children and my husband role is to waste his money in alcohol and always come back at night drunk.
Life was very bad because my children were stunted, malnourished and unhappy. A neighbor told me the news about the feeding program implemented by Dreaming for Change. She told me that D4C provided porridge to malnourished children frequently and I was impatient to go to the center where D4C feeds the children.
The next morning, I brought my three children to the center and they were registered in the book then they gave me 3 cards for my 3 children and were authorized to join the program. Today, my children are healthy and happy even though I still struggle to survive and feed them at home since my husband doesn’t support me. Thanks for bringing the feeding program in our village.