THE BURUNDI PROJECT

Fr Emmanuel and the young people of Bukeye, Burundi

The objective of the Burundi Project is to help young men and women in the village of Bukeye, Burundi, to learn skills such as building and carpentry by helping to fund the salaries of lay teachers at the Bukeye Professional Training Centre, which is run by Fr Emmanuel.

Burundi is a poor country. It has experienced a civil war since 1993, and many young people have been forced to join one or other of the militias. Villagers have been driven from their land and forced to live in camps. The country is deep in debt, partly because of a steep fall in the world price of coffee, its main export. The UN Development Programme estimates that the interest paid on Burundi’s debt in 2001 represented 98% of the country’s gross domestic product. At the same time, 60% of the population is in poverty.

The Bukeye Project was set up in August 2001 following a visit to the parish by Fr Emmanuel (see photograph above). He was planning to rebuild the Bukeye Professional Training Centre to help the local youth to find useful employment. Since August 2001 the parish has raised almost £5,000 by individual subscription. This money has gone to Bukeye to pay the salaries of four lay teachers at the Centre.

If you would like to become a subscriber, please contact Paul Mather (telephone: 914 6757 email: paul.mather@ntlworld.com). Most subscribers contribute £4 per month by Standing Order. This helps to cut down on administration!

Update 28/11/04:
The Centre appears to be thriving. Since the start of the Project in August 2001 a total of £9,200 has been sent to Fr Emmanuel. If we add the £871 raised by the Autumn Fayre then the Parish has raised over £10,000 in the past 30 months.