Back To Life

After seeing the large number of children who were due to school, Sylva, who had experienced similar childhood after the death of his father, recalled how he was helped by other people to be able to pursue his studies, and was compelled to do something to send to school those children who were scavenging. Thanks to support of Paklanyenye Church of Russia and other individuals who had similar dreams, they started Back to Life Association to send to school children found on the dump. As the main cause of drop-outs is hunger, these children are, lodged, fed day and night and given school materials as well as other basic needs to keep them in school. Back to Life was founded in 2019, but got a formal Government approval in 2021. We feed day and night 118 kids who have also been sent to school so far. Some have never been to school whereas others had dropped out due to poverty. Some of the children have parents who also live by scavenging on the dump due to poverty whereas others were abandoned by their parents or left their families due to misunderstanding between their parents which affects children and become wanderers as well as orphaned children. We have built a center which has a refectory in which those 118 kids are fed. Moreover, BLA lodges 22 kids, 11 boys and 11 girls. However, building more rooms is underway to lodge more in need. The children we accommodate are those who don’t have families either orphaned or abandoned children. We can’t support kids and forget their parents. As we support kids, we also empower their parents especially their mothers so as in the future, they will be able to satisfy their children’s basic needs to receive back them in their families. Most of these women under our support are widowed, unmarried, divorced women as well as parents with very low income. Most of these women have also got accustomed to a life of scavenging on the dump, where sexual and drugs abuse are frequent. So, We help them in mindset change. We have created an association for them with 40 members to help them to change their way of thinking and teach them to work with their hands. Moreover, we assist financially their development initiatives.

Children

Feeding

While hunger is the main cause of school drop-outs, we mainly intervene in feeding those kids who try to live by food scraps and leftovers found in trash. They are fed twice a day, at noon and at night. At noon, we have two rounds: Those attending to school AM and those for PM. Those attending PM are the first to be fed. They come to our refectory from their home, and are fed before going to school While those attending AM are fed as they go home. The nightly feeding program is 7PM. Those kids are fed together and go back home while those we accommodate stay in their dormitory.

Accommodation

22 children among whom 11 boys and 11 girls have been accommodated by our Association so far. We have built a decent habitation with water sanitation inside. Each room has two bunk beds and with one children on each bed. More rooms being built.

Clothing

These kids come from poor families which can’t clothe them whereas others do not know even their parents. We attempt to provide them much of what their parents had to do including clothing especially school uniforms and other necessary clothes and shoes.

Education

Education is our main Target: Sending and keeping these kids in school and prevent them from spending all their time on the dump. Most of the kids once studied at Mubone fundamental school which is close to our office and we monitored their progress. Actually we are partnering with children Must Live Association and these kids were sent to Heha happy School of that Association. We organize extra learning sessions to help them learn languages, sewing, photography and the like.

Leisure

These kids who found themselves on the dump at early age had lost hope for their life. We organize diverse leisure activities to make them happy and regain hope for their tomorrow. These include singing, dancin, going to beach, swimming. In leisure time, those children are taught how to play musical instruments such as piano and Guitar to change their atmosphere. Moreover, they learn gospel songs. These songs encourage these hopeless children. They remind them the love of God to them and its promise to them.

Women

Why women?

Compared to men, women are found in a larger number on the dump. They are vulnerable and are the most found victims of abuse. In this area, men often abandon their wives along with their children. In most of cases, women stay with their children and struggle to feed them.

Mindset change

These women we support have spent years on the rubbish dump and most of them were victims of sexual or drugs abuse. Some are found with many children among whom no one shares a father with another whereas they developed hopelessness of their tomorrow along with their children. Our intention is to bring these souls to Jesus. We help them to change their minds and live according to the word of God. Moreover, they are taught to work so as to live by the work of their hand instead of scavenging on the dump.

Resilience building

These women are given small capitals so as to find another activity providing income instead of picking food scraps on garbage. We intend to train them on different crafts including sewing, bread making and other small businesses.

About Sylvestre Havyarimana

Who Sylvestre?

Sylvestre Havyarimana was born in 1984 at Musaga in the Commune of Muha in Province Bujumbura in Burundi. As the civil war raged in Burundi, his father fell in it in 1996, turning an absurd page to his family whose life was depending mainly on the chief of the family. Sylvestre who had accepted Jesus in his life thanks to his friend’s invitation to the church, was grieved by the death of his father who died without knowing Jesus. The death of his father pushed Sylvestre who was a 12 years old schoolboy and the second child among 7 of his family, to take engagements and tasks which were much heavier than his age and his power. He was compelled to help his brothers and sisters to survive what plunged his family in the need of help. Himself along with his siblings were fed by their neighbors who helped them also in some of their needs. This childhood living situation created in him a dream of helping other children; a dream which he couldn’t see how it would turn into a reality one day. Sylva got a scholarship to study in Russia where he joined the church of Paklanyenye where he was appointed deacon. After his Master’s graduation, the church leader asked him what he really wanted to do. The answer was to help children. The church sent him back to Burundi as a missionary to start this charity work. Sylva took a wife and fortunately, his wife had the same dream as his. As he walked by the main dump of Bujumbura, he saw children who were due to school but were scavenging and was compelled to take action. So he started by there. Thanks to Paklanyenye church support and other individuals, he started back to life Association.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

We would like to thank all our sponsors who made this event possible. Thanks to their support, we were able to provide a memorable day for the children and the community.