Introduction:
Burundi is a country in the center of Africa and is a member of the Great Lakes Region. It’s said to be a developing country.
Its Surface area is 27,834 square kilometers that Lake Tanganyika covers alone.
Its population is estimated to be about 6 million constituted by three ethnic groups:
HUTU tribe 85%
TUTSI tribe 14%
TWA tribe 1%
Burundi Borders with Rwanda in the North, the Democratic Republic of Congo in the West, Lake Tanganyika in the South - west and The United Republic of Tanzania in the East.
Potential Resources:
Burundi is a country of thousand hills, valleys and fertile land with a very conducive climate for both agriculture and tourism industry throughout the year.
a) Agriculture: More than 90 percent of Burundian population are farmers .The main cash crops are coffee, tea, sugar, palm oil, fish and cotton.
b) Mines and quarry: The Burundi substratum contains a great deal of mineral resources Such as nickel, gold, limestone, copper, calcareous, peat, oil, cobalt and platinum that is not yet exploited.
Background
The history of Burundi has always been marked with ethnic war since its independence in 1962.
The most recent events are those of the year 1993 immediately after the assassination of the late President Melchior Ndadaye and his entourage elected democratically by the Burundian army.
The consequences of his death are the lost of human lives, most of them were the Burundi prominent people. The refugees scattered to all neighboring countries and elsewhere worldwide. There are a lot of widows and orphans who need of humanitarian assistance.
Those abandoned children are also in need of education and homes to enable them become useful in the society.
It is also very important to note that Burundi is having a large number of orphans, widows and HIV/AIDS victims.
Administrative system:
Bujumbura is the capital city of Burundi with a total population of 6 million.
The country has got it own style of administrative system. The local administrative office is called Commune Office- the Commune head is called administrator. Then they have provinces- the head of a province is called governor. There are 15 provinces and 120 communes in the country.
ABOUT THE GATERI REFUGEE CENTER:
It is near River Rusizi, it is the center for returning refugees from Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC Congo and Uganda. They had been displaced during the war. The government has given scope for them to rebuild their settlement and has facilitated land for them to build the houses. UNHCR has developed a food for work program. People are building their own homes and they are supplied foodstuffs by UNHCR.
The center is planned for 1000 families for now. Once the people will know about the Gateri center there is a possibility to increase 1000 more families by 2007. Presently it is planned to accommodate an estimate of 7000 people. There is a vast land available for 1000 or more families to settle.
Geographical area:
Gateri refugee center is located in hilly area of Chibotuke province, 2 km distance from the town Gaseny. It comes under Buganda Commune. The population of Buganda commune is 45, 000.There are two rainy seasons March to May and Sept. to November. There is plenty of rainwater during rainy seasons. The rest of time plenty of sun shine and clear sky that is the dried season.
The local crops are cassava, tomato, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, cucumber, carrot, onion, beans and green leaves are commonly utilized for the people’s daily use. Tropical fruits like mango, banana, papaya etc. are also cultivated.
Problems:
Food can be available till the construction of houses going on …after that…..?
Basically, they don’t have their own farming land and government has allowed them to built houses only on a single plot of 20x30 meters. There would be food problem in near future.
- Problem of drinking water
- Problem of food
- No power
- No school nearby
- No good road connecting to center
- No health care facility
- No toilet and hygiene facility
Benefit can be assured if land is provided by the Government
- 1000 families can be settled
- 2000 people can be employed
- Over 7000 people will be benefited and 45,000 thousand people of that commune can be benefited
- Over 10000 of Mt tons of food stuff can be supplied throughout the country per year
- It will increase the per capita income of the country
- It will have impact on increasing GDP of the country
- It will solve decrease un employment
- It will reduce poverty
- The project will be able to supply the drinking water
- It will decrease malnourishment and will improve the health condition in the area
- It will improve the technical knowledge in agricultural production, farming, dairy, and agriculture related cottage industry like, chips, pickle, juice and extract edible oil etc.
- Local market could be strengthen
- Purchasing capacity will be increase
- Build up peace and tranquility amongst the people in the country
Cause of the Gateri settlement
Because of civil war in 1991 –1993, people were ran away out from there to save their lives, they took shelter in nearby countries like Tanzania, DRC Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. After they left Burundi, the Government occupied their lands, buildings and other properties found as unused and abandoned. The country is building peace and the Government is calling the refugees to go back to their own country. For that’s reason the refugees are returning to country and the Gateri center is established.
About Rusizi River:
Rusizi is a river dividing Buruni and DR Congo in the North East. The river water level always maintained 5 meters deep in dry season and increases up to 8 meters in rainy seasons. The river water will be good for irrigation. It can be used for agriculture. Once it is treated it can be used for drinking.
PROJECT PLANNING FOR GATERI CENTER FOR REFUGEE SETTLEMENT:
The government has allocated 1,000 hectres land for cultivation and AMURT will develop the infrastructure for water supply system. Water will be pumped from river Rusizi to high land area and a big water storage tank on top, from the tank water will be channeled to different areas for irrigation. We can plan for tractors, bulldozer, generator, weaving machines and other useful machines for agriculture purposes. We also want to install a water treatment plant for drinking water and power supply system through generators, solar and electricity. Buildings for offices, bakery, dairy farming and create local markets are also under proposed plans.
Brick making for the contruction of their houses
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200 houses have been constructed and another
800 will be built in 2009 |
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