Burundi: Nutrition for Young Children & Families

The Dreaming for Change nutrition program recently hosted their partners from the local health clinic to assess the nutritional status of the children who have been eating the porridge three days a week. They found that 156 children have recovered from malnutrition. You can see that both height and weight are measured for this determination. Our work is successful. Children are becoming healthier and will be ready to learn in our new preschool. 




A Success Story from Dreaming for Change 
My name is Odette Uwimana and I am from Gatagura village. I am married to Innocent Ntahomvukiye, but that man has abandoned me. I struggle a lot to put food on the table and my ability to fulfill all the family responsibilities is constrained by the limited resources. Feeding and educating my children has been very challenging.


Months ago, I brought my children to the Dreaming for Change’s feeding program in Butanuka to receive nutritious meals. They were malnourished and very weak and their hair had lost its original color. This program helped my children to recover a lot. Later on, D4C introduced the kitchen garden program and I was among the beneficiaries. I built my own kitchen garden; I was given vegetable seeds and kits to start planting. Now we eat vegetables regularly and I no longer bring my children to the feeding center. 
Read more about the success of the nutrition program here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Db3vYSM367wSCLYtzjLmYc2gZ8SiCfri/


This video shows the holiday celebration sponsored by Dreaming for Change. Thanks to a Boone, NC business, we were able to provide families with a special meal. The preschoolers entertained the crowd. In case you missed it on Facebook, here are some happy faces from Butanuka, Burundi. 







The image below shows our holiday event from December 24, 2019.  This will be the second year we have received a business donation that allows us to purchase special foods and drinks for children and mothers from Butanuka. For many of these families it will be the only time during the year when they will eat meat or drink a Fanta. Our ongoing program provides fortified porridge for children and pre- and post-natal women. This meal, served on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, strengthens the children so they can walk and play. It gives the mothers a greater chance of delivering a healthy babies and being able to successfully nurse their babies.

"If someone is in distress and we can help, then we should help. If we see a positive difference that we could make, then we should make it. In gratitude for what we have been given in life, we respond by maximizing human dignity wherever we can."  Galen Guengerich, The Way of Gratitude. 








Dreaming for Change  is a charitable organization in Burundi dedicated to enhancing human dignity by providing educational opportunities, economic development and sustainable agriculture to impoverished communities in rural areas.

Feeding program:  The feeding program in Butanaka, Bubanza Province, Burundi serves a nutritional porridge to 250 malnourished children five days a week. Here are some facts from USAID:

In Burundi, 56% of children under five suffer from stunting and 5% from wasting. 
In rural areas, stunting can be as high as 66%
The infant mortality rate is 58.8 per thousand (one of the highest worldwide)
In 2017 Burundi ranked last on the Global Hunger Index. 

When the program began, there were children who were unable to stand or walk, children who looked like old people due to malnutrition, and children who were too weak to smile or play. After several months of one healthy meal a day, some of those symptoms are turning around. Here is a story from one mother: 

My name is Cecile NYABENDA, my daughter is Ornella NIYERA, she is eight years old. Ornella had been suffering from severe malnutrition for six years and hasn’t been able to go to school year because of her weak health condition. Ornella used to look almost elderly and her body was extremely thin and skeletal. “She couldn’t stand and walk and I was so ashamed to be with her in public places” says her mom.


Since coming to the Dreaming for Change feeding program, Ornella’s condition has been visibly improved because she receives daily nutritional porridge to function. Before I thought she had a physical disability but I was wrong because today she can speak and stand up for a while. Now the white hair caused by malnutrition had disappeared; she’s got additional 2 Kgs and her arms are getting healthier.




This funding campaign will extend the work of Dreaming for Change. This young organization has already received a grant from the U.S. Embassy to teach 84 women entrepreneurial skills and has provided micro-loans to women starting small businesses, and purchased school supplies to allow 35 children to attend their rural school for a year.  The focus now is on providing emergency food for young rural children. 

My name is Connie Green and I am a Professor in the College of Education at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I met Janvier Manirakiza, founder of Dreaming for Change, last summer when he participated in Mandela Washington Program for Young African Leaders at Appalachian State University. Janvier impressed me with his desire to help his country, one of the poorest places in the world. He volunteered to present at my church, inspiring the congregation with his dedication to create positive change through education, nutrition and economic development.  After corresponding with Janvier for many months, donating to his earlier work, and offering suggestions for Dreaming for Change, I agreed to  become  a member of the Board of Directors of this charitable organization. Janvier and his work in Burundi were highly commended by Dr.  Jesse Lutabingwa, Director of International Programs at Appalachian State.