About Us
Discover the journey of Back To Life Association -> from a personal calling in the heart of a garbage dump to a beacon of hope for hundreds of children and families in Burundi.
Who We Are
We are a Christian charity operating in Burundi. We started with the main garbage dump of Bujumbura, the economic capital of Burundi. We send to school children who didn’t get an opportunity to go to school and those who drop out of school and opt for scavenging on the dump due to hunger. Moreover, we empower their families.
Back To Life Association (BLA) was founded by Sylvestre Havyarimana in collaboration with the Pentecostal Church (Paklanyenye) in Voronej, Russia, where he served as a deacon. After completing his studies in Russia, Sylvestre returned to Burundi as a missionary sent by the church.
One day, while walking near the city’s main dump, he saw hundreds of adults and children sifting through garbage to survive. Among them were children who should have been in school. That moment changed everything.
After seeing the large number of children who were due to school, Sylva, who had experienced a similar childhood after the death of his father, recalled how he was helped by others to pursue his studies. He felt compelled to act.
Thanks to the support of Paklanyenye Church of Russia and other individuals who shared the same dream, they started Back To Life Association to send children from the dump to school. As hunger is the main cause of dropouts, these children are lodged, fed day and night, and given school materials and basic needs to stay in school.
Back To Life was founded in 2019 and received formal government approval in 2021. Today, we feed 118 children daily and have sent them all to school. Some had never attended school; others had dropped out due to poverty. Some have parents who also scavenge on the dump, while others are abandoned, orphaned, or left due to family conflicts.
We have built a center with a refectory where all 118 children are fed. We currently accommodate 22 children (11 boys and 11 girls) in safe dormitories. More rooms are under construction.
We cannot support children and forget their parents - especially their mothers. We empower widowed, single, divorced, or low-income mothers so that one day, they can welcome their children back home with dignity. Many of these women have lived years on the dump, facing abuse and despair. We help them change their mindset, bring them to faith, and teach them to live by the work of their hands through training and financial support for small businesses.
Our Programs
Love in action, every single day
Children Program
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 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 at 7 PM. Those kids are fed together and go back home while those we accommodate stay in their dormitory.
Accommodation
22 children, 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 with one child on each bed. More rooms are being built.
Clothing
These kids come from poor families who can’t clothe them, whereas others do not even know 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 & Hope
These kids who found themselves on the dump at an 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, dancing, going to the 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 of the love of God and His promise to them.
Women Empowerment
Why women?
Compared to men, women are found in larger numbers on the dump. They are vulnerable and are the most common victims of abuse. In this area, men often abandon their wives along with their children. In most 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 drug abuse. Some have many children with different fathers and had developed hopelessness for their future 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 hands instead of scavenging on the dump.
Resilience Building
These women are given small capital so as to find another income-generating activity instead of picking food scraps on garbage. We intend to train them on different crafts including sewing, bread making and other small businesses.
About the Founder
Sylvestre Havyarimana
Sylvestre Havyarimana was born in 1984 in Musaga, in the Commune of Muha, in Bujumbura Province, Burundi. As the civil war raged in Burundi, his father was killed in 1996, turning a tragic page for his family, whose life depended mainly on the head of the household. Sylvestre, who had accepted Jesus into his life thanks to a friend’s invitation to church, was deeply grieved by the death of his father. The death of his father pushed Sylvestre, who was a 12-year-old schoolboy and the second child among seven in his family, to take on responsibilities and tasks far heavier than his age and strength. He was compelled to help his brothers and sisters survive, which plunged his family into great need. He himself, along with his siblings, was fed by neighbors who also helped them with some of their needs. This childhood living situation created in him a dream of helping other children, a dream he could not imagine would one day become a reality. Sylvestre received a scholarship to study in Russia, where he joined the Paklanyenye Church and was appointed a deacon. After completing his Master’s degree, the church leader asked him what he truly wanted to do. His answer was to help children. The church sent him back to Burundi as a missionary to begin this charity work. Sylva got married, and fortunately, his wife shared the same dream. As he walked by the main dump of Bujumbura, he saw children who were of school age but were scavenging, and he was compelled to take action. So he started there. Thanks to the support of the Paklanyenye Church and other individuals, he started the Back to Life Association.
Our Team & Partners
Sylvestre Havyarimana
Founder & Director
Arcade
Co-founder & Educator
CDH Stephanus Team
International Partner
Be Part of This Story
Every child you help go to school, every mother you empower, becomes a new chapter in this journey of hope.