What sustainable development means in Burundi

Tearfund applies a clear strategy: yes to training and empowerment, no to handouts

Jean Bosco Sindayihebura of the Matana (Burundi) Diocese of the Anglican Church, field officer in charge of a nutrition project in conjunction with Tearfund, displays a bowl of fortified porridge. The project teaches residents how to address malnutrition using locally available resources.

When I asked Désiré Majambere, director of Tearfund Burundi, whether he gives direct financial support to any of the congregations his Church and Community Transformation (CCT) program serves, the response was striking.

“No,” he replied. “How could I choose among 5,000 churches?”

Majambere believes strongly that the path to development and flourishing for Majority World communities must involve identifying and effectively applying their own resources.

“You cannot wait for the muzungu [the Kirundi word for “white man”], NGOs, or government,” said Majambere, who has been Tearfund’s leader in Burundi since 2017, after previously guiding implementation of Tearfund-related projects for the Anglican Church. “We are blessed with resources, but people don’t recognize them, or they use their resources improperly or in for their own personal interest. CCT’s goal is to awaken the church to be God’s instrument for God’s transformation.”

CCT has three primary objectives. It (1) facilitates in-depth analysis of community situations, fostering a desire for transformation; (2) encourages individuals to take full responsibility for transforming their circumstances; and (3) fosters collaborative efforts within communities to bring about holistic transformation.

Tearfund Burundi’s October 2025 report says it has engaged 1,618 local congregations in CCT, resulting in the completion of health centers, schools, clean water, and roads and the formation of community-level self-help groups that pool funds for mutual aid. Tearfund does not give grants of money to local projects, but it provides training and, in some instances, technical kits and revolving loan funds to boost economic resilience capacities.

“When other NGOs give handouts, that develops a dependency syndrome,” Majambere asserted, “in which the community tends to minimize the value of what it already has. We are building resilience, although it’s harder when other NGOs are still showing up with money.”

Burundi community members doing their own road construction.

Of course, Majambere is not telling Westerners to stop sending money to Burundi. The day after our conversation, he left for a fundraising trip to Europe. If you are willing to contribute money to Tearfund Burundi, he will gladly accept it. But he is committed to using those resources in a manner that facilitates long-term sustainability. “Donors like the fact that we are making huge, sustainable impacts with relatively little money,” Majambere said, compared to what would happen if Tearfund were the sole direct funder of development projects.

I heard a similar story the next day from Eric Makarakiza, who manages food security projects for the Baptist Union of Burundi and for Dutabarane, a network supported by Baptists in Denmark. “Poverty is a state of mind,” he insisted. Makarakiza showed me materials that guide participants to assess their baseline situation (i.e., where they are now) relative to their vision of what they would want their life to be. As an example of such a vision for a rural family, he displayed a drawing that depicted a well-built home with an adjacent structure for farm animals and vegetables growing in nearby fields.

Eric Makarakiza of the Baptist Union of Burundi presenting bicycles to a group of “superfarmers” who help to supervise project activities in their communities.

“Often,” Makarakiza explained, “when a child in a rural family falls ill, when the family wants to send their children to school, or when they need to buy seeds, the parents are forced to sell or mortgage something they own at a very low price to obtain the necessary money. However, the only available buyer is sometimes a wealthy person with substantial capital, who takes advantage of the situation by offering a price far below the real value of the cow, coffee field, or tea or banana plantation, knowing that the family has no other option. This imbalance contributes to enriching wealthier individuals while the poorest remain in poverty.”

To address this situation, Makarakiza encourages the creation of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). He noted that VSLAs have enabled members to purchase their own mills and cows, pay children’s school fees, cement their houses, and even sleep on mattresses. He attributed these results to the project’s awareness-raising approach, which encourages beneficiary households to develop a shared family vision before joining the groups.

My 17 days in Burundi exposed me to the country’s overwhelming poverty, but Christians can help by contributing to organizations with well-conceived plans to help Burundians deploy their own resources effectively.