Uvira, June 23, 2024 – Burundian refugee orphan children who have found refuge with host families in the territory and town hall of Uvira, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are facing a major challenge: access to education. These young people, victims of political unrest in Burundi, have seen their journey marked by uncertainty and precariousness.
The coordinator of the Association of Women for the Promotion and Endogenous Development (AFPDE), Chantale Binwa, stressed the crucial importance of supporting these vulnerable children. In a context of recurring political crises, access to education becomes an essential lever to break the cycle of poverty and offer a better future to these young people in search of stability.
Faced with this worrying situation, AFPDE is striving to mobilize financial resources to maintain its support for orphaned refugee children. However, this approach cannot succeed without a pressing appeal for help from the international community. These young people deserve a chance to rebuild their lives and look forward to a more promising future.
With this in mind, orphaned Burundian refugee children, aged 14 to 17, are demanding the establishment of a learning center in Luvungi, in the Ruzizi plain. For these young people looking for stability, such a center would represent a glimmer of hope, an opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to envisage a brighter future.
Their poignant testimonies reveal the traumas suffered and the obstacles encountered since their exodus from Burundi. Many lost their parents at a young age and were left to fend for themselves, finding refuge with compassionate host families in the DRC. Despite initial support from structures such as AFPDE, these young people today find themselves faced with a lack of prospects, abandoned to their fate and forced to fight daily for their survival.
Among them, Mr. Kirasa, a nine-year-old orphan after the devastating conflicts in Burundi, saw his life turned upside down overnight. Thanks to initial assistance from the NGO AFPDE, he was able to complete his primary education but is now faced with the uncertainty of the future, with education becoming an inaccessible luxury. Her poignant story reveals the flaws in the humanitarian aid system and the plight of children left behind.
Currently, this 15-year-old refugee has had to give up school and is desperately looking for ways to meet his daily needs. His wandering, between the quest for water to sell for a few meager francs and the daily struggle for survival, reflects the harsh reality of many orphan refugee children, condemned to a precarious life for lack of prospects and adequate support.
Faced with this alarming situation, the call from orphaned Burundian refugee children for the construction of a learning center in Luvungi resonates as a humanitarian emergency. Beyond words, it is an urgent need to reach out to the most vulnerable, to offer them the tools they need to rebuild themselves and look to the future with hope. It is time to act, to transform the aspirations of these young people into reality, to allow them to dream again, while working towards a better future for all.