BUJUMBURA, January 4th (ABP) – The Kamenge Natives’ Association (ANAKA), in partnership with Kazoza FM radio, handed over on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, to the Mirango 1 Basic School commonly called Ku bafaransa, Kamenge zone in Ntahangwa commune of Bujumbura city, 350 school benches.
The chairman of the said association, Mr. Serges Nsabimana, said that after noting an apparent lack of benches at this school, to such an extent that some pupils learn while sitting on the floor, ANAKA thought of giving its contribution for the improvement of their learning conditions. According to him, the Head of State’s Vision, ‘Emerging Burundi in 2040 and developed Burundi in 2060’ is not possible without quality education.
To achieve this, the association, via broadcasts on Kazoza FM radio, is carrying out an awareness campaign called “There is no future without education (Nta kazoza ata shure)”, to have partners who can sponsor this work of looking for school benches. This is how the 350 benches that the school needed were totaled. He thanked the various partners who responded to the appeal, while inviting them to always support that school for other needs. He invited the managers and students of the Mirango 1 Basic School to make good use of them, explaining that those benches will be used for future generations.
The director of that school, Mrs. Domaides Nduwimana, expressed her thanks to the ANAKA association for the donation. She did not fail to raise other challenges that haunt the school, including the insufficiency in latrines. The school has 20 latrines for more than 4,000 students, she said. She also mentioned the insufficiency in French books, especially for 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th grades. The absence of a library and a computer room for practical work in ICT courses was also raised. To that end, Mrs. Nduwimana asked partners working in the education sector to always be by their side.
The mayor of the city of Bujumbura, Jimmy Hatungimana, after offering the best wishes for the New Year 2024 to the participants in that ceremony, specified that the problems haunting the Mirango 1 Basic School are also noticed in other school institutions based in Bujumbura city. He recommended to the Provincial Director of Education in Bujumbura city to make an inventory of the needs of each school to see how to remedy them. As the Mirango 1 Basic School has a high enrollment, he proposed that this school be built higher so that they can save space for the classrooms because, he said, this school is of paramount importance because it even receives students from the peripheral neighborhoods of Bujumbura city. He urged the Burundian diaspora, businesses and other partners to invest in the education sector in order to prepare a better future for the country. Bujumbura city’s schools are also called upon to tackle agricultural and rabbit farming projects and others for their self-development, Mr. Hatungimana said.
For his part, the assistant to the Minister in charge of Education, Mr. Hermenegilde Burikukiye, also commended that initiative. He specified that the government of Burundi is very concerned about issues related to education. According to him, there is a program at the Ministry of Education and its partners aimed at distributing educational materials in schools which is being implemented. He also mentioned another decentralized program at the communal level where there is public procurement awarded for the manufacture of school benches. He asked the administrative officials of the Ntahangwa commune to closely monitor the implementation of such public procurement. He advised the people of Burundi to take issues related to education into their own hands, everyone contributing what they can. “Together, everything is possible,” he said. He insisted on the proper use of school equipment for the promotion of quality education.