NEWSLETTER: Announcing Four New Agricultural Development Projects

In January, the Student Grants Program of the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund received 15 applications from its Call for Proposals 2019. The applications were carefully reviewed and evaluated and four development project proposals were recommended and received grants. The purpose of this newsletter is to announce the grants, introduce the Project Managers and provide a brief description of the four new agricultural development projects.

Supporting and Sustaining the Livelihood of Widows and Orphans at Rubirizi, Project Manager: Barthelemy MINANI

Barthelemy MINANI, Project Manager, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Community Development from Hope Africa University and he is enrolled in the Community Development Master’s Program.

Barthelemy, Project Manager

He has worked as a volunteer for “Right To Play” and Hope Africa University. Barthelemy worked as a staff member for Hope Africa University from 2013 to 2015. He has been an Intern with Initiatives for Promoting Rural Health and Integrated Development and he has successfully organized two agricultural cooperatives in Cibitoke and Bubanza provinces.

The project is in Mutimbuzi Commune of Bujumbura Province in the locality of Rubirizi which is in north west part of Bujumbura City. The war of 1993 has left behind numerous widows who are poor and unable to satisfy basic needs of the family. The purpose of the project is to support and sustain the livelihoods of 15 widows through farming maize (corn) and breeding goats.

The project will support each member to have a female goat and a pen. The second generation of goats will be sold and generated money will be dropped at the association account to support the activities. The project will rent land and activities like preparing soil, planting, fertilizing, weeding and harvesting will be the responsibilities of the members of the association. After harvesting, part of the harvest will be shared among the members and the rest will be sold to generate money for the association’s account.

The association will introduce a microfinancing system to support ongoing cultivation activities after the funding. A little bit of money will be contributed by members and the members are expected to generate extra money by doing extra compensated work outside the association. The members will make sure to elect leaders who are capable to dealing with daily management of the association. The association is expected to become self-supporting, self-managing and self-governing. In time, the project is expected to start another extension association.

Pigs Husbandry, Potatoes and Cabbage Plants in Kizunga Colline in Nyabiraba Commune, Project Manager: Désiré NSENGIYUMVA

Désiré NSENGIYUMVA, the Project Manager, has a Bachelor’s degree in Administrative Sciences and Economics from Hope Africa University.

Désiré, Project Manager

Désiré has work experience in caring for pigs and other animals and cultivating cabbages, potatoes and other plants.

Nyabiraba Commune is in Bujumbura Province, 27 kilometers away from the center of Bujumbura City. The Commune is mountainous and has suffered incidents of civil war and erosion. The population practices agriculture (crop cultivation and animal husbandry) in the traditional manner. The project beneficiaries include 12 poor women who have signed an agreement to work together in an association to tackle poverty in their families and improve their living conditions.

At first, 6 women will receive a female pig and once they have piglets, the female piglets will be distributed to the other association members. Male pigs will be sold to generate money for the association’s account. Once each association member has a female pig, the female piglets will remain with the beneficiary and the male pigs will be sold and the money will be kept in the account of the association. The project will rent land and buy seeds. All activities like digging, preparing nurseries for cabbage, planting, watering, harvesting and selling will be done by the association members. Some of the harvest from the crops will be shared among members and the rest will be sold to generate money for the association’s bank account. The association will initiate microfinance activities to sustain the association. Officers will be elected from the members to be responsible for daily matters of the association.

The association is expected to be self-supporting and self-governing. Members of the association will be empowered through training on cultivating crops, raising animals and financial management. In the future, the project is expected to initiate another extension project.

Supporting Widows and Divorced Women in Breeding Goats and Cultivating Rice at Musenyi in Mpanda Commune, Project Manager: Epithace NDUWAYO

Epithace NDUWAYO, Project Manager, has a Theology degree from Hope Africa University and a diploma in Psychology and Sciences of Education from the University of Burundi.

Epithace, Project Manager

During his time in residence at Hope Africa University, Epithace was a student representative and worked with students from different nations and different cultures. He is a member of the APADECO Association (Action for Peace and Community Development) and leads the social and economic affairs functions.

Mpanda Commune is in Bubanza Province which is in northwest of Bujumbura City. This Commune has been badly affected by the civil war of 1993 resulting in huge number of vulnerable women. The purpose the project is to reduce poverty among vulnerable women through the cultivation of rice and the distribution of goats. The project is located in Musenyi locality, an area which favors the growing of rice. The project will recruit 15 vulnerable women who agree to sign an agreement to work together in the association. The association will elect officers and is expected to become self-governing, self-supporting and self-sustaining.

Each woman will be provided with a female goat and a pen. The goats will produce fertilizer that will contribute to the rehabilitation of the family small plots, thus increase productivity. It is planned that after 6 to 7 months, the goats will produce baby goats. The first female baby goats will be passed on to the next extension association. The next baby goat generations will belong to the women. The project will rent land for rice cultivation. All the rice related activities like digging the land, planting, watering, and harvesting will be the responsibilities of the members. After the harvest of rice, the project intends to share the harvest among members, sell the rest and assign the generated money to the account of the association.

Breeding Pigs and Raising Sweet Potatoes for Widows from Nyabiraba Commune, Raro Hill, Bujumbura Province, Project Manager: Juvenal HAVYARIMANA

Juvenal HAVYARIMANA, the Project Manager, is a graduate of the medical school at Hope Africa University and is a licensed general practitioner.

Juvenal, Project Manager

Juvenal has experience in directing a medical center and a clinic. He has held leadership positions for students and scholars’ associations.

Nyabiraba Commune is in Bujumbura Province at 27 kilometers away from Bujumbura City. The Commune is mountainous and has suffered incidents of civil war. The population practices agriculture and animal husbandry in a traditional manner. The project beneficiaries includes 15 widows from RARO Colline who have decided to work together in an association to tackle poverty in their families and improve living conditions. The project grant will provide animals, land and seeds.

At the start, 5 women will each receive a female pig and a pig pen. The first generation of female piglets will be distributed to the rest of other association members. The male piglets will be sold to generate money for the association’s account. Once each member has a female pig, the female piglets will belong to the beneficiary and the male piglets will continue to be sold to help keep the project self-supporting.

The beneficiaries will be responsible for digging, planting, fertilizing, weeding and harvesting. The harvests from the crops will be shared among members and the rest will be sold, generating self-sustaining money for the association’s continuing crop cultivation. The association will initiate microfinance activities to help sustain the association.

Officers will be elected from the association members to be responsible for providing leadership to the association. The association will follow the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund self-support and self-governance development principles. In the future, the project is expected to spawn another extension project; an association of women who agree to replicate the self-supporting development project.