Strengthening Community Resilience in the Face of COVID-19
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the effects have been felt in countries around the world, including Burundi, with hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases and thousands of deaths.
This pandemic has put public health systems and emergency services under enormous pressure. As many people were quarantined due to suspected contamination, and although the circumstances were dire, this crisis was also a powerful reminder of the importance of solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, in order to limit its damage and lay a solid foundation for better health and a more resilient future.
From December 2020 to March 2021, as part of its ongoing community engagement and in response to the COVID pandemic, AHEZA IWACU conducted this project with the aim of building and strengthening community resilience among the population of the BUTERERE and KINAMA areas.
Several awareness sessions were conducted in different solidarity groups managed by UCBUM, as well as in private and public schools in Buterere where coordinated and precise information that reinforces key messages was shared, on how to prevent the spread of the virus and the guidance/hygiene measures to be observed (hand washing, social distancing, use of protective masks and diagnosis of signs) in case of COVID-19.
The above activities were carried out in various schools in BUTERERE and KINAMA, namely ECOFO BUMWE, LTSS, ECOFO KIYANGE, ECOFO KINAMA I, ECOFO KINAMA II, ECOFO KINAMA IV, ECOFO KINAMA IV, ECOFO MUBONE, etc., where nearly 15,000 students were educated on COVID-19 prevention and appropriate hygiene measures. 855 households grouped into "TUJEHAMWE" solidarity groups were educated on proper sanitation and hygiene measures to be observed during this pandemic season. Following the campaign's awareness sessions, washing stations, sanitation and hygiene kits, and recycling bins for proper community waste management were distributed to project beneficiaries.
This project would not have been possible without the support of our partners!! We are grateful to all the members of the UCBUM administration team in BUTERERE and KINAMA, who provided us with invaluable technical support. We would especially like to thank Ms. Cynthia MANIRAMBONA, Legal Representative and Director of UCBUM. Our sincere thanks go to the U.S. EMBASSY IN BURUNDI for their generous financial support, which helped us reach such a large number of people in BUTERERE and KINAMA!! TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS!!
