Peace in Their Time

Since 1993, Burundi has been caught up in a brutal war, the familiar story of Hutu pitted against Tutsi, like neighbouring Rwanda but without the international attention and no final resolution.

In October 1993, when after only four months in power the Hutu President Melchior Ndadaye was assassinated, all hell broke loose.

Colleta Cimpaye, 54, recalls the day:

"Someone looked out and saw people running towards us with machetes, knives and guns," Fourteen years later she still lives with her five children in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs).

"I've lost so many people I can hardly count," says Colleta.

"My husband. My brother. His wife.Their children. My sister. Her eight children. We once were 12 brothers and sisters. Now we are only two."

Colleta's story is typical of so many in Burundi, it is hard to fully understand such loss.

The war killed 300,000 people and left an estimated 800,000 orphans to fend for themselves. Many children have ended up on the streets, vulnerable to robbery and abuse. Others have been recruited as child soldiers into one of the many gangs of rebels or robbers that roam the country.

A new Burundi

In the heart of Burundi in the town of Ruyigi, Maggy Barankitse has single-handedly influenced thousands of people in this area, bringing her message of peace and reconciliation to 10,000 orphans over the last 14 years.

ActionAid helped Maggy set up her project, Maison Shalom (house of peace) in 1994, and we have worked closely with her ever since.

Much more than just an orphanage, Maison Shalom has built villages for children to live together and rebuild their lives.

"We encourage the children to bond together into new family units, and to take responsibility for themselves and others," says Joselyne Ninganza, a psychologist at the project.

"When the eldest is old enough, often they will formally adopt the younger children in their new family, and they are also entitled to apply for the title deeds to their house.

It gives them the chance to live together as families, take responsibility for themselves and others, and to act like a normal Burundian family" says Joselyne.

Over time, the project has branched out in several ways – farms have been established to provide food for the children, a centre set up showing films such as Gandhi and documentaries on Martin Luther King, training provided for ex-combatantsin mechanics or computer literacy, and a crèche provided so that older children can go to school.

Weaving through all this is a message of peace, of responsibility to oneself and those around you, regardless of race or creed.

"My dream is to create a new Burundi that is free from violence," says Maggy Barankitse.

I tell the children constantly, 'remember that you are the fruit of love. There is no Hutu, no Tutsi, we are all the same.'"

A commitment to peace

As well as supporting Maison Shalom, ActionAid's wider work is focusing on crucial peace building projects, rehabilitation of ex-combatants and the pressing need to help re-house and reintegrate people who are still living in IDP camps, too scared to return to their home villages.

Progress is being made, but, without a stable government and an international commitment to a peaceful Burundi, the future of millions remains in question.

As Maggy says, "A country is a mother. Even when she is sick, as we were during the war, we can't abandon her."