Our Blog

Service Yezu Mwiza in partnership with Care International/Burundi has, through its TUBAKARORERO project which is implemented in 3 provinces including Cibitoke, Bujumbura and Kirundo, organized training/capacity building sessions for the Pillars of VSLAs and G50 Focal Points on various themes, namely sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) (themes grouped together in what is called "Life Skills ").

As the Community SRH Solutions project called TUBAKARORERO is based at the community level, there has been the establishment of the pillars of solidarity groups at the local level, in particular the VSLAs (Village Savings and Credit Association). Since the latter work on savings and credit activities, the project wants to work with them to promote positive attitudes of young people, couples and families regarding SRH and GBV in general and the members of these particular groups.

In addition to the pillars, the project has also, for greater impact, integrated the focal points so that they can add SRH and GBV to their usual themes during the G50 approach (Grouping of 50 households) set up by the Auxfin organization to allow the community to be more active, more coherent and to have better economic growth.

VSLA Pillars training session in Gatumba

According to the Project Manager at SYM, Lambert Hakuziyaremye, the project aims to tow young people, couples and their families to use SRH information and services in a socio-economic environment conducive to SRH and gender equality, without contradictions and supported by major influencers.”The aim was to provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills so that they in turn could share them with the community through these community solidarity groups (VSLA and others). The pillars and focal points are therefore community relays for the popularization of the knowledge acquired during these trainings within the community through sensitization in the groups”, he adds.

Claudine NZEYIMANA, one of the pillars of Mugongomanga commune

Claudine NZEYIMANA, one of the pillars of the Mugongomanga commune, Bujumbura province gave her appreciation after the training: “As a young community leader, the training opened my eyes first as an individual, but also as someone who must enlighten other young people. We learned about self-control, emotional control and especially when it comes to making decisions. The training was articulated through games on everyday situations, which facilitated our understanding and adoption of positive attitudes on several aspects of daily life as well as the acquisition of the necessary skills to be effective in our subsequent community sensitizations”.

It should also be noted that the youth volunteers are currently undergoing training on the CVC modules and the SASA approach in order to equip them with the necessary skills to be agents of change in their respective communities. The youth volunteers have been put in place by the project in all the youth centers/youth spaces in all the communes. They are called upon to organize sensitizations on the above-mentioned themes within the youth centers as well as mass sensitizations in the community. The ultimate goal of these capacity building sessions is to fight ignorance in all its forms through the promotion of positive attitudes about SRH and GBV.