Child sponsorship letter from Gitega
06/11/2006
Update from November 2006
Dear friends,
The year is drawing to its end. Therefore, allow us to wish you, on behalf of all the Gitega SOS Children’s Village, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year 2007.
At present, the famine still remains a sad truth. It hits hard a population already weakened by miscellaneous epidemics of which cholera and HIV/AIDS pandemic. Nowadays, the political situation is not very reassuring especially with the signing of the cease-fire agreements between the Government and the last rebel faction but they are dragging their feet over its total and entire implementation. As a consequence, human rights continue to be flouted; abusive imprisonments, murders, armed robberies and unpunished rapes are common. Labor union demonstrations, particularly paralysing the social sectors such as education, health and human and child rights promotion, are regularly registered.
Despite these problems, our SOS Children’s Village managed to carry out appreciable actions during this second semester of the year 2006.
In the educational field, with the beginning of the school year in September, the number of pupils in our schools went from 431 pupils to 471 (94 are at the SOS Nursery School and 377 SOS Primary School); among them the Village counts 19 children SOS Nursery School and 53 at the SOS HG Primary School. The global rate of moving up into a higher class is 93,25% for the whole of the primary school. Grade 6 success rate in the national competitive exam giving access to secondary education was 97.5%. The SOS children success rate for this last form is 95.83%. Let us also mention that two SOS youngsters had a degree of school-leaving studies.
In September and October, the SOS Children’s Village took in 25 new SOS children aged from 2 months to 7. Two SOS youth hostels were opened of which one in Bujumbura to facilitate the youths care who have just started their secondary studies at the SOS Lycée. With the opening of these youth hostels, the number of youths people went from 54 to 79 compared to the first semester of this year.
During May and August, the Village organized a research campaign of biological families for children admitted during war and who hitherto have never heard from their biological families. Out of 8 children and youths in this situation, SOS mothers and youth leaders who conducted this operation found biological families for 5 SOS youngsters aged from 16 up to 18. The psychological behaviour change of these youths after they had discovered their families and the impact of this activity on the level of public information about the work of SOS Children’s Villages encourage us to keep on with the operation for such cases.
To strengthen our ties with SOS children and youths caretakers, a meeting was held with them in July. Talks were particularly focused on “Who we are” and the organisation of children vacation. Following this meeting, we noticed that compared to former times many children and youths managed to find where to spend summer holidays.
On request of a guardian family of two SOS children (a sibling), the Village organised in collaboration with the latter the coming out of mourning ceremonies for these children’s parents carried off by the October 1993 war. In the Burundian culture, this ceremony has as effect the psychological restoration of the one who lost his family member.
As actions undertaken for youths development, a training session was organized for children and youths aged 12 and upwards around sexuality topics, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, dangers of smoking, alcoholism and effects of drugs and narcotism consumption.
Also, youths took part in the activities organised within the framework of the sub-region holiday camp for SOS youths from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda in August at the SOS Children’s Village Rutana.
Youths actively took part in social, community, cultural and sporting organisations undertaken in their areas of residence.
In the framework of SOS mother profession promotion, the Village celebrated the World Mother Day: the village neighbours and the Gitega women associations of Gitega were part of the festival. An SOS mother had the honour to be publicly congratulated by a government representative who presided over Burundi Independence Day on July 1 for her dedication in favour of SOS children for 19 years.
As specific actions towards the community, the Anti-AIDS Clubs and the advocacy club of child rights which were initiated by the SOS Primary School contribute to the community sensitisation on these two topics.
In addition to its activities within the framework to ensure the beneficiaries access to t basic social services, the Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) organised for the community volunteers and the representatives of Orphans and Vulnerable Children ‘s guardians (OVCs) a training on HIV/AIDS affected persons’ care. OVCs aged 12 and upwards attended a training on sexual education, drugs, smoking and alcoholism. In order to make autonomous caretakers families of OVCs, the number of income generating activities supported by the FSP went from 23 in the first semester to 36 to this November.
Dear friends, as difficulties encountered during this period and apart from the environment depicted above, water and shortages that we recalled in our correspondence of May have scaled up. Diseases struck hard our SOS institutions; we have had two deaths of which a teacher and a child who had just been admitted into the Village, four hospitalisation cases Sos children S.O.S at the Gitega hospital, two hospitalised SOS mothers for more than one month in the Bujumbura SOS Medical Centre and several cases of out of home care for SOS children and SOS staff.
We reiterate our heartfelt thanks for your full dedication to support our SOS children and institutions.
Mr Libère NDAYISHIMIYE
Village Director
Sponsor's update from Muyinga
Update from June 2006
Dear friends,
In this middle of the year 2006, what a pleasure again for us to send you, on behalf of SOS children, SOS mothers and SOS all co-workers, to send you our gratitude for your unwavering support for the well being of children and youths of Muyinga SOS children’s Village. We have actually opened a new youth home for 9 young boys, during March 2006, who began their secondary school while still living in their SOS family houses.
Thus, the Village takes in nowadays 144 children who live in 15 family houses and 30 young ladies and boys divided up in 3 youth homes. Social inquiries have just been achieved to admit 6 new children in order to reach the maximum number of 150 children.
The Village also assists other youths among whom 53 are going to high boarding school including SOS HG Lycée of Bujumbura. Besides, 5 young ladies are attending a needlework school, 8 SOS children and youths who are reunited with their biological families, and 2 other SOS youths (a boy and a lady) are studying at SOS Technical School of Kigali in Rwanda.
Two resettled youths who have become SOS adults, mentioned in our November 2005 last edition, have already began to carry out their self-employment projects.
The socio-economic and political problems of our country remain but we hope that there will be improvements since the new authorities in power, have just accepted to start negotiations with the Hutu People’s Liberation Party (PALIPEHUTU-FNL), a warring faction still fighting against the government. It’s also worthy mentioning the very long famine that has hit the Northern region of the country and a lot of damages caused by floods in some communes.
As far as our family strengthening program so as to prevent child abandonment is concerned, the member of children assisted in their biological or foster families passed from 150 to 200 as of April 2006. Other seven new houses for more vulnerable families are being built. Some people have been trained to help vulnerable families to bring up their children.
Concerning sporting and blooming activities, the co-workers of SOS Primary School meet once a month with SOS children and youths. Moreover, our SOS football club AMIGO FC continues to have matches with other teams of Muyinga football Association.
In the same way, some SOS friends living at Bujumbura with other members of their new sport club for environment came to play with their ancient team on our play ground on April 29, 2006. It was a good opportunity for them to plant 50 seedling fruits in our SOS children’s village of Muyinga. It was a day really high in colour where pictures and images were taken and speeches delivered.
It was opportunities for 46 new friends to sign their commitment that they are since then members of our friends and local sponsors go on to bring some money and to show us their moral support. On the whole, it was a day of social rallying, of advocacy and marketing by sport.
The Village did not receive exceptional gifts. However, friends and local sponsors continue to contribute in the form of gifts in cash and to show us their moral support.
On the International Woman Day, a delegation of SOS mothers together with the Village Director and the SOS Primary School principal took part in the celebrations at the national level where the President of the Republic graced the ceremonies with his presence on March 18, 2006.
During the last period, our SOS primary school centred its activities on preparing pupils of 6th form to the national competitive test that will take place on May 31, 2006 and that allow pupils to proceed to Secondary School.
In the same way, we help pupils of 6th form living near our village to prepare themselves to the above mentioned test. In fact, we sent eight training tests to 989 pupils divided up into 17public primary schools of Muyinga school district. Still talking about the same period, school marks had been improved. In fact, 290 pupils out of 328 succeed, that is 88.4%.
Concerning 127 SOS children going to the same school, the success rate goes from 61.2% for the 1st term to 65.7% for the 2nd. You have to notice that among 30 children identified by a University professor as having acquisition problems 16 children are no longer in the group. The success rate of this group of children go from 43.8% for the 1st term to 52.2% for the 2nd.
The success rate for SOS youth who attend the SOS Lycée of Bujumbura varies from 58.98% for the 1st term to 62.5% for the 2nd. In order to encourage SOS children and youths to work hard, with the agreement of the National Office, 43 SOS children and 20 SOS youths got prices because they have much more improved their marks or they have got more marks than others and consequently took the 1st positions.
Talking about our future prospects, we always need a multi-purpose hall for socio-cultural and sporting activities for SOS children as well as for pupils going to our SOS Primary School. We are also waiting for building for a socio-medical centre that will be useful for people living near our village especially those concerned by our family strengthening program.
Dear friends, we couldn’t finish without having thanked you once again for your generous support for our work. At last we wish some of you who will get an opportunity, the most enjoyable summer holidays and ask you to convey our warmest greetings to your respective families.
Louis RWASA, Directeur du Village and Pascal BIZIMANA, Directeur National
Relevant Countries: Burundi.