A special Cord Peace One Day football match between returning refugees and local villagers kicked off in Giharo Commune, Burundi to mark the UN's Annual Day of Peace, of worldwide ceasefire and non violence.

100 million people in 192 member countries participated, allowing September 21st to be marked by life saving initiatives, such as mass child vaccinations, across the globe.

As peace builders, Cord works across Rutana Province with hundreds of returning refugees, and is committed to the One Day, One Goal campaign backed by Puma. The match between local side Eagle Boys and "Amavubi" the repatriate team- saw Eagle Boys enjoy a 2-0 victory and added Burundi to the list of UN member countries supporting cooperation and unity through the power of football on this special day.

‘Football in Burundi was severely hampered by the long civil war and this was a chance to celebrate the country's progress in its return to peace, and to a semblance of normality,’ said Cord Country Director Serge Ntabikiyoboka.

The peace celebration included traditional Burundian drumming and a moving reenactment of refugees being welcomed back after 15 long years of exile in neighbouring Tanzania.

It was also a chance to mark the completion of five primary schools which Cord has helped to build as part of the organisation’s long term programme of support for the region as its people strive for a peaceable future after years of disruption and suffering.

World’s original think tank signs up its London loos

One of the world’s most prestigious centres of creative thinking, the Royal Society of Arts, has joined the ranks of global Toilet Twinners by linking their public loos with latrines in the tiny war torn country of Burundi.

Since UK based peace building organisation Cord launched its quirky fundraiser to improve sanitation in the African bush for thousands of Burundians returning home after 14 years in exile, more than 650 twinners – companies, individuals, cathedrals and bishops from Kuwait to Palermo, Australia to Albuquerque have signed up, raising some £50,000 to date.

For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce has been a cradle of enlightened thinking. Founded in 1754 it boasts 27,000 Fellows - all achievers and influencers from every field with a real commitment to progressive social change.

Shirley Gibson, Facilities Manager at their historic London headquarters says ‘The RSA has been at the forefront of creative thinking for centuries. Toilet twinning is just that, an imaginative approach to highlighting a desperate global need.’

‘We had no hesitation in twinning our toilets and are delighted at the world wide support the campaign is receiving. We hope that by displaying the twinning plaque in our public toilets we will encourage clients and visitors to join the ranks of toilet twinners,’ she added.

Cord Burundi’s Emmanuel Ndayabarwa has clocked up 7150 kms - 4,400 miles - riding deep into the African bush to check on the progress and log and reCord the coordinates of over 700 Toilet Twinning latrines.

The toilets, scattered amongst the remote hill villages of Giharo commune, Rutana Province, are being built by Burundians returning after 14 years exile in refugee camps of neighbouring Tanzania. Checking on the progress of the latrines and reCording the map coordinates as part of the world’s first Toilet Twinning campaign is painstaking work for Emmanuel, who is travelling the rough and ready tracks on his trusted Yamaha 125 DT.

Made of hand made bricks and with corrugated roofs, concrete slabs and deep pits the latrines are bringing sanitation and improved health to thousands of people who lost everything in the long civil war.

So far, thanks in no small measure to Emmanuel’s journeys, Toilet Twinning has raised more than £50,000 for Cord’s work.

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