BUJUMBURA June 16th (ABP) – The First Lady of Burundi, Mrs. Angéline Ndayishimiye, returned on Tuesday June 15, 2021 satisfied with her working visit to Benin from June 9 to 14, 2021.
Upon arrival at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport, she said three ministers were among the members of the delegation she was leading. These are the minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Deo Guide Rurema, the one in charge of Public Health Thaddée Ndikumana and the one in charge of Education François Havyarimana. They were all able to benefit from the experience, each in their own field, the First Lady of Burundi said.
Mrs. Ndayishimiye, who is Chairperson of the Organization of African First Ladies (OPDAD)-Burundi, made the visit to Benin as Sponsor of school canteens. She was supported by WFP, which supports the school canteen program.
Her delegation was able to benefit from the exchange of experience with the Beninese authorities on the organization and operation of school canteens.
In Benin, she was able to visit primary schools that have school canteens, she said. She added that she had the privilege of participating in the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a school canteen in one of those schools visited. In Benin, she continued to say, the people took ownership of the issue of school canteens.
In fact, alongside the Beninese authorities and the WFP, the people of Benin contribute to the activities of those canteens by providing part of their agricultural production to schools and also help in cooking food for children.
The Burundian delegation was able to visit especially agricultural and livestock cooperatives, and other agricultural processing cooperatives. She found that in the Songhai center, water from the toilets is transformed into urea used as fertilizer. There are also fish farmers who use rainwater, and food processing factories that transform kinds of locusts that are mixed with rice to make it more nutritious for children. Those factories then supply their products to school canteens, via the WFP, which purchases them in foreign currency.
According to Mrs. Ndayishimiye, that situation is similar to that of Burundi where the President of the Republic wishes to reach the goal where every mouth should have food and every pocket money.
During that visit, she was able to meet and discuss with the First Lady of Benin, Mrs. Claudine Talon, on what is done in relation to school canteens. They spoke about the Claudine Talon Foundation which deals with the care of women with fistulas. There was also the twinning of their foundations; that of the First Lady of Burundi “Umugiraneza Foundation” and that of the First Lady of Benin, “Claudine Talon Foundation”. The two personalities will help each other especially in the area of women’s health.