After the war : Roots & Shoots in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo
As an international Roots & Shoots volunteer in Tanzania, I had the opportunity to meet with several founding members of Roots & Shoots from Burundi and Congo. In Kigoma, where they used to live when they were refugees, they told me about their stories, successes and difficulties, and shared their hopes for the future. Now they are looking forward to receiving some further support from the Roots & Shoots network in order to develop their activities in their respective countries, which are slowly recovering from the past conflicts.
Because of the war destroying his country, Burundi, David Ninteretse grew up in Tanzania. He went back there as soon as possible, in order to resume his studies in French, until the war broke out again with the assassination of the first Hutu President elected in Burundi. Back in Tanzania, David studied another two years at the Congolese school in Kigoma, where he took part in Roots & Shoots activities. Unfortunately, he had to interrupt his studies once again when the school closed. After staying for some time at the Nyanugusu Congolese refugee camp, he went to Uvira, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, until conflict erupted there in 2005, forcing him to flee the country.
Although he could not come back to Tanzania as a refugee, David returned to Burundi where he met with Ancile Ntirwihisha, a local French teacher. Ancile is part of « Inkingi z’ubuntu », that is to say the people who risked their life to save other people. Ancile used to live in a district inhabited by a majority of Tutsis, as Hutus had fled, fearing they would be killed by the Tutsis. When war broke out in town, Ancile tried to save the students whose parents ran away by hiding them in her house. Since then, those students grew up, and some of them eventually joined Roots & Shoots with Ancile, in the hope of building a better future for their country.
With the help of a few Tanzanian friends, the first club of “Jane Goodall young volunteers” of Burundi was created in April, 2006. Another club, composed of Tutsi and Hutu children and named “the children of hope” was developed to promote peace in their area. Today there are 18 Roots & Shoots clubs in Burundi, with more than 600 members, from primary school to university, as well as marginalized communities such as the Twa ethnic group, bicycle-taxi drivers and orphans, whom David and his friends have helped to teach music. The later have their own club, which is called “impanuzi”, and means “counseling club”. In addition to planting trees, Roots & Shoots members talk to government officials about deforestation and bush meat trafficking.
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Justin wanted to emigrate to South Africa to flee from the war which was tearing his country apart. Instead he found shelter in Tanzania, where he met with John Shabani, another Congolese refugee. John told him about Doctor Jane Goodall, the Jane Goodall Institute which she founded, and Roots & Shoots. Interested in the philosophy of the JGI youth program, Justin decided to take part in Roots & Shoots activities in Tanzania. During the years that followed, John and Justin looked for funds and information to send back to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so that they could launch Roots & Shoots there.
And in 2006, they did just that. The first Roots & Shoots club in DRC was created in 2006 at the superior pedagogical institute of Bukavu. It initially had eight members. On a voluntary basis, the Roots & Shoots group endeavored to spread awareness about the program through debates and meetings in youth centers and schools visits. They also ran HIV/AIDS testing campaigns, as well as workshops on environmental protection. They were rewarded for their efforts; today there are 16 clubs in DRC, mostly in the North Kivu region, and there are still several requests to create new clubs.
Amongst other activities, Congolese Roots & Shoots clubs built tree nurseries, and celebrated the international Arbor Day with music, drama and poetry. In Uvira, one club planted bamboos along one part of the shore of Lake Tanganiyka. Other Roots & Shoots members visited the Kauzi-Biega national park, where many elephants and gorillas have been killed during the conflict which lasted from 2004 to 2006. At the university level, a conference on biodiversity and sustainable tourism was organized in September 2007. Furthermore, Roots & Shoots clubs from Burundi and DRC came together to make an audio CD celebrating peace, which they sell to collect funds for their future activities.
The founding members of Roots & Shoots in Burundi and DRC are all volunteers. They ran their activities with their own financial contributions, and devoted a lot of time and energy to Roots & Shoots in a particularly difficult setting. Recently there has been three earthquakes in DRC, which caused substantial material damage.
Nevertheless they have numerous projects for 2008, starting by creating Roots & Shoots clubs in the entire country in order to inform as many children as possible about environmental conservation.
In order to fulfill these objectives, our friends seek to receive further documentation and advice from Roots & Shoots members at the international level, especially from French speaking countries. This collaboration could take place through the Partnerships in Understanding program, which enables groups from different countries to exchange ideas and information, and eventually create lasting bonds.
As an international Roots & Shoots volunteer in Tanzania, I had the opportunity to meet with several founding members of Roots & Shoots from Burundi and Congo. In Kigoma, where they used to live when they were refugees, they told me about their stories, successes and difficulties, and shared their hopes for the future. Now they are looking forward to receiving some further support from the Roots & Shoots network in order to develop their activities in their respective countries, which are slowly recovering from the past conflicts.
Because of the war destroying his country, Burundi, David Ninteretse grew up in Tanzania. He went back there as soon as possible, in order to resume his studies in French, until the war broke out again with the assassination of the first Hutu President elected in Burundi. Back in Tanzania, David studied another two years at the Congolese school in Kigoma, where he took part in Roots & Shoots activities. Unfortunately, he had to interrupt his studies once again when the school closed. After staying for some time at the Nyanugusu Congolese refugee camp, he went to Uvira, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, until conflict erupted there in 2005, forcing him to flee the country.
Although he could not come back to Tanzania as a refugee, David returned to Burundi where he met with Ancile Ntirwihisha, a local French teacher. Ancile is part of « Inkingi z’ubuntu », that is to say the people who risked their life to save other people. Ancile used to live in a district inhabited by a majority of Tutsis, as Hutus had fled, fearing they would be killed by the Tutsis. When war broke out in town, Ancile tried to save the students whose parents ran away by hiding them in her house. Since then, those students grew up, and some of them eventually joined Roots & Shoots with Ancile, in the hope of building a better future for their country.
With the help of a few Tanzanian friends, the first club of “Jane Goodall young volunteers” of Burundi was created in April, 2006. Another club, composed of Tutsi and Hutu children and named “the children of hope” was developed to promote peace in their area. Today there are 18 Roots & Shoots clubs in Burundi, with more than 600 members, from primary school to university, as well as marginalized communities such as the Twa ethnic group, bicycle-taxi drivers and orphans, whom David and his friends have helped to teach music. The later have their own club, which is called “impanuzi”, and means “counseling club”. In addition to planting trees, Roots & Shoots members talk to government officials about deforestation and bush meat trafficking.
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Justin wanted to emigrate to South Africa to flee from the war which was tearing his country apart. Instead he found shelter in Tanzania, where he met with John Shabani, another Congolese refugee. John told him about Doctor Jane Goodall, the Jane Goodall Institute which she founded, and Roots & Shoots. Interested in the philosophy of the JGI youth program, Justin decided to take part in Roots & Shoots activities in Tanzania. During the years that followed, John and Justin looked for funds and information to send back to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so that they could launch Roots & Shoots there.
And in 2006, they did just that. The first Roots & Shoots club in DRC was created in 2006 at the superior pedagogical institute of Bukavu. It initially had eight members. On a voluntary basis, the Roots & Shoots group endeavored to spread awareness about the program through debates and meetings in youth centers and schools visits. They also ran HIV/AIDS testing campaigns, as well as workshops on environmental protection. They were rewarded for their efforts; today there are 16 clubs in DRC, mostly in the North Kivu region, and there are still several requests to create new clubs.
Amongst other activities, Congolese Roots & Shoots clubs built tree nurseries, and celebrated the international Arbor Day with music, drama and poetry. In Uvira, one club planted bamboos along one part of the shore of Lake Tanganiyka. Other Roots & Shoots members visited the Kauzi-Biega national park, where many elephants and gorillas have been killed during the conflict which lasted from 2004 to 2006. At the university level, a conference on biodiversity and sustainable tourism was organized in September 2007. Furthermore, Roots & Shoots clubs from Burundi and DRC came together to make an audio CD celebrating peace, which they sell to collect funds for their future activities.
The founding members of Roots & Shoots in Burundi and DRC are all volunteers. They ran their activities with their own financial contributions, and devoted a lot of time and energy to Roots & Shoots in a particularly difficult setting. Recently there has been three earthquakes in DRC, which caused substantial material damage.
Nevertheless they have numerous projects for 2008, starting by creating Roots & Shoots clubs in the entire country in order to inform as many children as possible about environmental conservation.
In order to fulfill these objectives, our friends seek to receive further documentation and advice from Roots & Shoots members at the international level, especially from French speaking countries. This collaboration could take place through the Partnerships in Understanding program, which enables groups from different countries to exchange ideas and information, and eventually create lasting bonds.
If you are interested in building such a partnership with a Roots & Shoots club in Burundi or DRC, please get in touch with you national branch. Let us hope now that we will be able to gather our strengths to move a spirit of peace across the borders in order to build a better future and lasting peace in Burundi and DRC.
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