Country Description:

CARE established an office in Burundi in March 1994 to help people affected by civil strife following the assassination of Burundi's first elected president in October 1993. CARE-Burundi's initial program focused on the distribution of non-food items to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returning Burundian refugees in five northern provinces. After civil war erupted in Rwanda in April 1994, CARE increased its assistance to help the enormous influx of Rwandans fleeing into northern Burundi. In 1994-95, CARE, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), managed the Rwandan refugee camp in Majuri, providing 32,000 refugees with food, shelter, water and sanitation, and medical care, until its closure in December 1995. CARE also worked with the World Food Program to distribute food to 400,000 Rwandan refugees housed in camps in Ngozi, Kirundo and Muyinga provinces.

In addition to helping Rwandan refugees, CARE continued to meet the needs of Burundian IDPs. With funding from UNHCR and the European Union's Humanitarian Office (ECHO), CARE provided 50,000 IDPs with non-food items and helped rebuild schools, health centers and community buildings in the provinces of Ngozi and Bujumbura Rural; this project ended in January 1996. CARE also carried out a water system rehabilitation and sanitation project in Ngozi province to encourage 105,000 IDPs to return home and also to ensure their health. Currently CARE Burundi works in two areas of the country, Ngozi Province and Bujumbura Rural/Muramvya provinces, helping Burundian IDPs return home and rebuild their lives. The Ngozi project helps IDPs rebuild their houses and build latrines. The Bujumbura Rural/Muramvya project focuses on the rehabilitation of water systems and sanitation.

CARE also works to strengthen the ability of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to improve the lives of the people they serve. In 1995, CARE helped fund seven local NGOs working in the following sectors: health, education, women's development, income generation, humanitarian assistance and community development. Since 1994, CARE Burundi has assisted 200,000 Burundian and Rwandan refugees housed in 11 camps in Uvira, eastern Zaire, located just across the Burundian border. CARE has been responsible for all aspects of camp management, as well as warehouse management for non-food items and road rehabilitation and, since 1995, food distribution.