Peace at last for Burundi's elderly

Helen Barankanira says now she can sleep peacefully at night.

"I know I won’t be attacked in my bed, I’m not frightened anymore and I’m happy I will [eventually] die peacefully, from natural causes," she said.

Helen, seventy and her husband Laurien Birahenuka, sixty five, returned from Tanzania after being in exile for five years. 

"We didn’t want to return to the area we came from in Burundi because it was too dangerous; so we came to Giharo," she explained.

They arrived with nothing but were still physically strong; with help from Cord they made bricks and built a new house, used fertiliser from their goats and worked on the gardens. Their lives have improved tremendously and they are no longer living in poverty.

They grow maize, have enough to eat and also to harvest and store inside their home, selling any surplus to make money. This, together with receiving seeds and cassava cuttings has made a huge difference to their lives. Now Helen can buy and sell essentials like soap, salt and oil.

The couple adopted 2 orphans, girls who were just wandering in the street with no-one to look after them. One of their own daughters lives nearby,the other in the capital, Bujumbura. Helen visits her in the dry season, getting a lift on a bicycle to the nearest junction and then catching the bus for the 100km journey, which costs her $13.

A Cord Burundi field worker visits families like Helen’s to teach them how to clean, use mosquito nets, the basics of personal and domestic hygiene and to vet and monitor their goat’s health.

"The world is changing. There is too much of everything – wind, rain, sun - everything now comes in extremes and this affects the harvest,’ said her husband Laurien as he arrived home from tending his crops in the field.

"I am happy to live back in my own country but I worry about rumours of insecurity on the radio," he added.

"We are both Catholics and I am very upset about the high levels of sexual violence against women in Burundi. Men shouldn’t behave this way towards women; I find it deeply disturbing that this situation continues to be a problem."  Cord and our partner, ADDF, are actively working on this issue in Burundi, empowering women to tackle the issue and change their society for the better.