GITEGA March 1st (ABP) – The European Union (EU) will finance this year and for the first time in Burundi, a new program in the field of basic education, with a contribution of 20 million euros.
This is an announcement by the EU Ambassador to Burundi, Mr. Claude Bochu, in his speech delivered on the occasion of the closing ceremonies of the project piloted by the NGO IRC (International Rescue Committee), namely, the Project of support for quality alternative care and deinstitutionalization for children in Burundi “Umwana Mu Muryango (UMMU: child in the family)”, which had benefited from EU funding.
Speaking on the reasons for the new financial support, Mr. Bochu said that inclusive, equitable and quality education for all is not only an inalienable human right, but also the guarantee of harmonious and sustainable development of Burundi and in its stability, he added.
Mr. Bochu also announced that in the coming months, the EU also plans to finance, with an amount of 920,000 Euros, the creation of the national observatory for child protection within the Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender.
He finally pointed out that children represent 49% of the population, but they represent 100% of its future. Furthermore, because the IRC implemented the project to the satisfaction of the donor, the EU, the latter’s ambassador promised to renew the project. This delighted the governor of the Gitega province, Mr. Venant Manirambona, who also delivered praise towards the IRC.
As a sustainable strategy to curb the phenomenon of children or adults in a street situation, Governor Manirambona expressed the wish to provide the province with a center for raising awareness of that category of people on the need for their family reintegration.
Another positive assessment of the IRC’s achievements came from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry in charge of Human Rights, Mr. Pontien Hatungimana. He embraced the will of the Burundian government to spare no effort to support any organization wishing to support it in its desire to promote the rights of vulnerable children.
Note that the support project for quality alternative care and deinstitutionalization for children in Burundi “Umwana Mu Muryango (UMMU) had a duration of execution from January 2019 to March 2023, in four areas of intervention, namely Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura, Gitega and Muyinga.