RUMONGE May 25th (ABP) – The inhabitants of the peace village of Mayengo in the Kigwena zone of the Rumonge commune and province (south-west of Burundi), who had been relocated in 2015 following floods in Muhuta commune of the same province challenge potential partners to support them in carrying out development micro-projects. Those are the victims of 7 villages which had been hit hard by those floods.
Mr. Rémy Bitariho, manager of the Mayengo site, also affected, considers that thanks to the efforts of the government, the inhabitants of that village have been able to get rid of the challenges related to their housing.
He expressed gratitude to the UNDP who built them standard decent housing. “Currently we are well housed in a house with 3 bedrooms and living room, well ventilated in a village of peace which has been serviced by tracing roads and building gutters”.
He commended the commitment of other organizations that came to their rescue by building classrooms and raising awareness for behavior change in reproductive health.
Nevertheless, Mr. Bitariho raised that the inhabitants of the peace village of Mayengo need to be supported to recover economically. “Most of us are fishermen. However, they no longer have fishing boats. We would like to continue our activities,” he said, asking for credit. He also pointed out that their wives need these microcredits to continue their small business, along the national road linking the economic capital of Bujumbura to the Rumonge and Makamba provinces, activities they carried out before being relocated.
Mr. Bitariho said he was grateful to UNDP for installing a transformer and electricity poles at the peace village. But the current is not there yet. He considers that the lack of electricity is one of the causes of the idleness of part of the population of the peace village of Mayengo. According to the manager of that site, welding, carpentry, secretarial work, sewing, are among other activities that are dormant due to the lack of electric current.
At the education level, he called on the partners to build many classrooms for their children and to introduce school canteens to these schools. Mr. Bitariho asks the local authorities to provide land for cultivation to families living in this village, explaining that it is not easy to find 100,000 BIF to rent a field to cultivate.
Note that the peace village of Mayengo is made up of 174 households, of about 1500 people, it is indicated