Burundi: Protecting the Vulnerable

A major challenge for organizations such as UNICEF is protecting the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children in Burundi. In this nation of just over six million people, there are an estimated 600,000 orphans. Most lost their parents to the ongoing conflict, which has killed more than 300,000 people, with hundreds of thousands more displaced.

But, the number of AIDS orphans is also rising. Marguerite Barankitse is the founder and director of the UNICEF-supported NGO "Maison Shalom," which provides support and rehabiliation to thousands of orphans in one of Burundi’s most insecure provinces.

"For the past three years, most of the children who come to us are AIDS orphans," Barankitse says. "Most of the children who are in the Shalom house are girls, and many saw their parents killed and some were also raped. Some girls have babies from the killer of their parents. So, this means we must really accompany those children, because they’re traumatized."

For hundreds of thousands of children, safe-houses such as those provided by Maison Shalom remain a far-off dream. For many, their only home is the streets of Burundi’s towns and cities. There, life remains a desperate struggle to survive.

However, there are some local associations in Bujumbura, which do attempt to care for the city’s street children, such as the NGO "Noah’s Ark."

A boy in Burundi.

"Life for street children in Bujumbura is very difficult. These are children who have to beg or steal just to eat," says one social worker. "If they need treatment, there are some people who are motivated by kindness and when they come across a child, they’ll make sure that he or she gets treatment."

But there are others who don’t get any help from anybody, the social worker reports. "They’re often mistreated by people, who don’t understand them. When these people see them in the street, they hit them, and abuse them. But there are others who are interested in these children and want them to have the same sort of life as other children in the country."

In recent years, there has been growing concern about the massive levels of rape and sexual violence perpetrated against women and young girls. The endemic violence in Burundi has contributed to a perceived culture of impunity regarding sexual violence -- and children are especially vulnerable.

"This issue has really become a big concern at UNICEF in the past year," says Malick Sene, UNICEF representative in Bujumbura. "It’s a big violation of their rights. These girls are raped by rebel groups, by the army and by other people. So we have to work on this very quickly to find a way to give them treatment, psychological and judicial support. It’s a big concern in Burundi right now."

Burundian boys

While NGO’s and international agencies attempt to change public perception about sexual violence, the victims have to contend with a range of trauma. Besides the effects of physical violence, the stigma associated with rape, and the psychological trauma, there is also the ever-present risk of HIV infection.

"I think the situation has increased during the last 10 years of war," says Thomas Munyuzangabo, HIV/AIDS project officer with UNICEF in Burundi. "It is becoming a culture of impunity, unfortunately. And now the big problem is: how to break the silence, how to get these problems to come to the agenda of the government, to the agenda of the police and the military, who are dealing with the combatants in the field. But, at the same time, how to reach the rebel groups who commit many rapes. At some stage, it’s becoming really a crime of humanity."

Humanitarian NGO’s and organizations such as UNICEF are struggling to protect the hundreds of thousands of Burundi’s vulnerable children. Despite their best efforts, most will not be able to benefit from protection. Their greatest hope remains the end of Burundi’s deadly civil war. Without the stability and security which peace would bring, many Burundian children will almost certainly continue to be the most helpless victims of the country’s strife.