I dream of a perfect village. In this village, everyone has access to health care, there is no hunger, communities are financially developed, the environment is protected, and people are involved in its development.
In Burundi, malnutrition is widespread and there is a high mortality rate among pregnant women and newborns. Still, all of these problems can be prevented.
I have analyzed the challenges in my communities from a young age, so I knew what my home needed when I began to envision the perfect village. And when I saw a specific person come to my village and what he did, I became further invested in my vision. He came to pull out teeth but used no sterilized instruments and had no recognized education in health sciences. These kinds of acts may have contributed to HIV transmission. At the age of 17, I began attending a nursing school, determined to bring new hope to my village. After graduating, I visited the homes of sick villagers to provide them with whatever health care services I was capable of. At the age of 23, I founded ATN Burundi, an NPO working to improve healthcare for vulnerable people living in rural communities.
In the same year, I also launched Perfect Village Communities. We work to address food production and environmental issues in the village through organized community development cooperatives. We do breeding for manure production and use that manure to regenerate soil naturally so we can produce food while protecting the environment. We want to end hunger through food production and establish an agribusiness. Eventually, we plan to ensure our financial autonomy to satisfy our needs for healthcare and education.
Our solid community moving towards the perfect village continues to grow, and we have already accomplished a lot on our own. When it comes to healthcare, we have realized health counseling programs and workshops that provide guidance on malnutrition and hygienic issues. We have also built two medical facilities in the village where pregnant women and children under 5 years of age can receive free medical care.
We will continue to work toward our dream and expand our activities to other parts of Burundi, eventually sharing our vision with other countries worldwide. We can’t wait to serve not only ourselves, but also our dear country and planet.