“Even in a context of extreme poverty you can achieve improvement”

For almost 30 years, OAP has been setting up actions in Burundi to improve the living conditions of people in the rural areas around the capital. The full name of the organisation is 'Organisation d'appui à l'auto-promotion', which translates as 'Organisation for the support of self-promotion'. Their strategy is clear: give the Burundian population a push in the back to improve their own situation. And that is necessary. According to figures from the World Bank, Burundi is the poorest country in the world.

This is the OAP sensitization message to the Burundians. “We go to the villages and meet the existing associations, young people, the elderly, farmers' organizations. We talk to them about ways in which they can improve their own situation,” says Ernest Niyonzima, director of OAP.

After all, waiting doesn't help anyone; only through action can you reach a certain level of development. "You have to call upon your own energy to get things moving. In this way, even in a context of extreme poverty, with limited resources and the right approach, you can achieve sustainable improvement."

Installing a well, building a school or setting up a maternity ward: these are actions that OAP does not prefer, but which are sometimes necessary. “However, even when we provide humanitarian aid, we will always try to strengthen people in their autonomy,” Niyonzima explains. That is why management committees have been set up, made up of democratically elected men and women, who are responsible for these projects.

And so helping never has to mean charity. “If people want to keep pigs but don’t have the means to start, we help them buy a pig. But it’s not a gift. They have to do something in return. For example, pay it back when they can. Or if the pig has a piglet, they have to give it to another family.”