With support from the Head of the Hope Africa University (the University), Agriculture and Zootechny Program (AZP); Cyprien NTUNZWENIMANA, the very first Special Return Home and Connect Briefing Session was held for the 53 AZP students the day before their graduation on Friday, February 6, 2026.
The purpose of the Special Return Home and Connect Briefing Session was to encourage the graduates to return to their home Annual Conference of the Free Methodist Church of Burundi (the Church), their home parish and their home commune and connect and work with community farmers; the Church agriculture and livestock development personnel and activities, the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund (HMODF) farming projects and other community farming organizations and community farmers.
Through special collaboration between the Church, the University and Friends of Hope Africa University (Friends), the Church selects students from various parishes to attend the AZP and the Church-selected students receive a two-year, full scholarship from Friends. Of the 53 AZP graduating students for 2026, 34 were Church-selected students who received the Friends’ scholarship; a free two-year education. The expectation is that the graduating scholarship students will return to their Annual Conference, their home community and return agriculture and livestock development service with the Church, the HMODF and other community farming organizations.
Although the approved 2024 HMODF Agriculture Internship Enhancements Program included a December return home component for introductions and connections with the Church agriculture and livestock development personnel and activities, it did not take place. Likewise, the approved Agriculture and Zootechny Program Improvement Committee Action Plan for 2025 included a return home component to connect with the Church, the HMODF and other community farming projects in December but it never took place. Accordingly, the Special Return Home and Connect Briefing Session was the first important connection attempt to achieve the Church, Friends and University’s intentions to develop agriculture and livestock development capacity at the community level within the Annual Conferences and, thereby, increase production, increase food security, alleviate poverty and improve lives.
There were two main presenters at the Special Return Home and Connect Briefing Session; Pastor Audace MPAWENIMANA, Director of Community Mobilization for the Church and Rev. Dieudonne IRAMBONA, Program Coordinator for the HMODF.
Audace indicated that the Church is involved in agriculture and livestock development as part of its Transformational Ministries. He explained how the Church has selected some of the AZP students and they receive a two-year Friends’ scholarship with expectations that after they have completed their training they will return to their home Annual Conference and work collaboratively with the Church and their local Parish.
Audace explained that some of the churches have land that is cultivated and the Church has activities that support individuals and families with crop cultivation and livestock development, including the International Child Care Ministries (ICCM). Audace strongly encouraged the students to return to their home Annual Conference, their Parish and connect and get involved with the Church’s agriculture and livestock development personnel, projects and activities.
Audace added: “I will be strongly glad to see you collaborating with your Parish Pastor who selected and recommended you for a scholarship. After graduation, please go back to him or her and give thanks and say, ‘here is my diploma, bless it and facilitate me to use it.’ I will be going around and see how you are serving. Surely, many opportunities will target graduates who are strongly supporting their local church.”
Dieudonne indicated that the HMODF is a dedicated agriculture and livestock development fund. He explained that the HMODF was suggested by Bishop and Rector Elie BUCONYORI in 2007 and the first grants were provided at graduation in 2011. Any student or graduate of Hope Africa University can submit a project proposal for a one-time, start-up grant and, if approved, become the volunteer Project Manager. All of the development projects must be designed to become self-supporting, self-managing, self-governing and self-sustaining. After 15 years, the HMODF has more than 60 agriculture and livestock development projects, about 681 beneficiaries and 4,086 family members located in 14 provinces and 31 different communes.
The project beneficiaries are mostly poor and vulnerable women who are organized and work together in a self-help association of 10 members and become involved in crop cultivation, animal husbandry and microfinancing. The projects have cultivated many crops and shared parts of the harvests and generated income from selling parts of the harvests. In November of 2025, our projects had 1,217 goats and pigs and they have generated income from selling 745 animals.
Dieudonne explained that the HMODF Project Managers and Project Beneficiaries have not had training and they need training. Accordingly, he encouraged the 2026 AZP Graduates to return to their home community and connect with the Church, the HMODF projects and other community farming organizations and community farmers. Dieudonne indicated that community farmers can benefit from learning the high-production methods that the 2026 AZP Graduates learned from Foundations for Farming.
AZP Graduate Lists and HMODF Project Lists
The HMODF has developed a listing of the 2026 AZP Graduates; the listing, categorized by Annual Conferences, includes names, home locations, parishes and telephone numbers. Likewise, the HMODF has developed a listing of HMODF projects; the listing, categorized by Annual Conferences, includes names, locations, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. In support of making collaborative connections on agriculture and livestock development, the listings will be made available and/or distributed to the Church, the University, the AZP Graduates and the HMODF Project Managers.
After the two presentations, the students were divided into groups by the 6 Annual Conferences. All of the members of each group were given a list of all of the graduating students from their home Annual Conference. Each of the Annual Conference lists indicate the names, the home locations and the telephone numbers. The graduates were encouraged to return home and connect with the Church, their Parish Pastors, the HMODF projects and other community organizations and community farmers.
Positive Testimonies from Agriculture and Zootechny Program Graduates
To encourage the 2026 AZP Graduates to return home and connect, there were positive testimonies from their own peers; Graduates who have already connected and engaged in helping community farmers do better in crop cultivation. The first testimony was from Elyse NDIHOKUBWAYO, a 2025 AZP Graduate, who is working closely with his Parish as the volunteer Project Manager of our first HMODF agriculture and livestock development project in Ngozi. The next testimonies came from Gabriel NIYONSABA and Lydie NSENGIYUMAVA, two of three 2026 AZP Graduates who were involved in two of our first Extension Community Planting Training Sessions at the new HMODF agriculture and livestock development project associated with the Buringa Research and Development Centre. The next testimony was given by Denis NIYUNGEKO, a 2026 AZP Graduate who is already working with his Parish as a HMODF Project Manager for two new and exciting agriculture and livestock development projects strategically located at Kibuye.
HMODF Project Manager in Ngozi
- Cultivating Vegetables and Raising the Goats for Vulnerable Women in Ngozi Province, Busiga Commune, Rukeco Zone and Mpondogoto Colline, Project Manager: Elyse NDIHOKUBWAYO; a 2025 Agriculture and Zootechny Program Graduate
Gahahe Extension Community Planting Training
- Supporting Poor, Vulnerable Women in Gahahe Colline, Rubirizi Zone, Mutimbuzi Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province by Cultivating Maize, Soja Beans and Breeding Goats, Project Manager: John NDIZEYE
Visitors: Jean Bosco NIUYOKWIZERA, Rosette NDAYIKENGURUKIYE, John NDIZEYE, Cyprien NTUNZWENIMANA, John McCready
Buringa Extension Community Planting Training
- Cultivating Corn and Soybeans and Breeding Pigs for Vulnerable Women from Buringa Colline, Gihanga Commune in Bubanza Province, Project Manager: Epithace NDUWAYO
Visitors: Gabriel NIYONSABA, Jean Bosco NIUYOKWIZERA, Lydie NSENGIYUMAVA, Cyprien NTUNZWENIMANA, Epithace NDUWAYO, John McCready
Kibuye Onsite Project Visit
- Cultivating Crops and Breeding Goats for Vulnerable Women from Kibuye Colline, Bukirasazi Commune, Gitega Province – Project Managers: Rev. Luc NGENZEBUHORO and Denis NIYUNGEKO
- Cultivating Crops and Breeding Pigs for Vulnerable Women from Kibuye Colline, Bukirasazi Commune, GITEGA Province – Project Managers: Rev. Luc NGENZEBUHORO and Denis NIYUNGEKO
Visitors: Luc NGENZEBUHORO, Denis NIYUNGEKO, Dieudonne IRAMBONA, Cynthia DUSABE, Vanessa Bielema, John McCready
Graduates Returning and Connecting with Their Home Community
Given that 34 of the 2026 Agriculture and Zootechny Program Gradates were selected by the Church and, thereby, received a full, two-year scholarship from Friends, it is expected that they return and connect to their home Annual Conference, their home Parish and their home Community. To facilitate the return and connection, the HMODF organized the Special Return Home and Connect Briefing Session. In addition, the HMODF has developed a listing of the 2026 AZP Graduates, their home locations and contact information and organized the information by the 6 Annual Conferences. Likewise, we have developed a listing the HMODF agriculture and livestock development projects with locations and Project Manager’s contact information and organed the information by the 6 Annual Conferences.
The listing of 2026 AZP Graduates and the HMODF Projects will be shared with the Church, the Graduates and the HMODF Project Managers. The distribution of the listings will be done to stimulate and facilitate outreach and connections by all the parties. Establishing working connections with the 2026 AZP Graduates is particularly important because they are first class to have had the benefit of the high-production crop cultivation training by Foundations for Farming. By training community farmers to use the Foundations for Farming methods instead of the traditional methods, crop cultivation can be much more productive. Increased crop cultivation production can contribute to alleviating poverty, decreasing malnutrition, increasing food security, improving health, increasing income and improving lives.
You can invest in agriculture and livestock development in Burundi by visiting Donations – Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund.