Burundi
Discover real-world stories of communities overcoming poverty and deforestation! Plant With Purpose, a Christian non-profit, shares examples of environmental sustainability and stewardship from all around the world. These stories show us how faith, resilience, and sustainable practices transform people’s lives as well as their environment. As rural families overcome poverty and heal the planet, embrace empowerment, renewal, and hope.
About Our Work, Burundi
In Mutsindozi, Transformed Communities are Transforming Watersheds
The Mutsindozi watershed is one of twelve watersheds where Plant With Purpose Burundi works. Mutsindozi is uniquely located at the base of two mountain ranges: the Inanzerwe on one side and the Kibimbi on the other. This steep terrain leads to serious environmental threats, including deforestation for wood and charcoal, over-grazing and wandering livestock, bush fires, erosion, depleted water sources, soil degradation, and floods which destroy the banks of the Mutsindozi River...
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Burundi, Living Sustainably
Keza, Burundi: "I was able to harvest twice as much."
“My name is Keza. I joined the Purpose Group very recently.” For Keza, life with five young children was full of responsibility and challenge. In her community in Burundi, farming is the foundation of survival; however, years of difficult harvests meant that food and income were often uncertain. When Plant With Purpose arrived in her […]
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Burundi
Niyonkuru: "I am no longer waiting for help."
"There was a time when I was full of despair. Poverty had overwhelmed us,” Niyonkuru begins, his voice steady but heavy with memory. “We couldn’t even keep our child in school. And when he dropped out, things only got worse.” 42 year old Niyonkuru lives in Burundi with his wife and two grown children. Before […]
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About Our Work, Burundi, DR Congo, Haiti
Abundance is more than wealth
In the world of international development, economic indicators often dominate the conversation. How much has household income increased? How many small businesses were launched? These metrics are important, but they’re only part of the story. What about trust between neighbors? Spiritual renewal? The return of birds and pollinators to a once-barren field? Or a parent […]
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Burundi
Vyizigiro, Burundi: “What I’ve learned, I want to pass on"
"Before I joined Plant With Purpose Burundi, life felt like I was trying to carry water in a broken jar,” says Vyizigiro, a farmer and father of four living in Rutana Province. "I was always trying to get ahead, to save just enough to start a small business. But every time I tried, the money […]
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Burundi
Kagabo, Burundi: "We know our priorities."
Plant With Purpose believes that transforming lives is a process that happens within and around a person. Lasting change comes from the inside out, and the stories of our partners exemplify this.. We celebrate healthier farms, restored ecosystems, and new businesses, recognizing that these are often outward manifestations of an inner transformation. This is why […]
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Burundi
Manisha, Burundi: "Hope came my way"
Manisha lives in the Nyakazu watershed where wildfires are just one of many environmental concerns. Poverty is rampant in rural Burundi, and for smallholder farmers like Manisha, climate conditions and soil erosion lead to insufficient crop yields regularly. This impacts his families’ incomes and nutrition. “Before I joined Plant With Purpose Burundi, I had so […]
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Burundi, Climate Solutions, DR Congo, Environmental Restoration
Rewilding Landscapes: The Impact of Tree Planting on Wildlife
Tree planting is rewilding degraded landscapes, bringing back wildlife, and restoring ecosystems Rewilding landscapes has gained attention as a way to address the biodiversity loss. Rewilding is the process of restoring degraded ecosystems to their natural state. That allowing for the return of wildlife and the reestablishment of ecological processes. It's a way of "rewinding […]
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Burundi
Belise, Burundi: "I kept thinking about how to improve my family’s life"
“I am so happy to be a member of a Purpose Group!” exclaims Belise. “Before I joined Plant With Purpose, I was a poor woman. I was so poor; I could not see how to support my family. I had to feed them every day, and my husband was unemployed.” Belise lives in Burundi, where […]
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Burundi
Veriane, Burundi: Changing how my children see themselves
Around the world, parents dream of raising children to be confident and secure in who they are. However, the opportunities parents have to accomplish this aren’t always equal. In places like Burundi, where poverty and hardship are part of many families’ daily experiences, children often struggle with self-worth. “Before we became a part of Plant […]
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Burundi
Edouard & Pancras: "My brothers and I look at our father with respect"
“Our oldest sister didn’t have the chance to finish her studies. This was before my father became a member of a Burundi Purpose Group, and our family lacked the means to allow her to complete her studies,” shared Edouard. Edouard’s family, like many in Musanzaza, Burundi, long struggled with poverty. They were farmers who couldn’t […]
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Burundi
Josias, Burundi: "My mission is to make the soil more fertile"
My name is Josias. I am 53 years old and a member of a Purpose Group where we are all famers in Burundi. Before I joined the Purpose Group, I lived with many financial struggles. I used to be a trader in the Bujumbura Central Market, and I had a better life. Unfortunately, there was […]
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Burundi
Espoir: In the years to come, I will not have problems teaching my children.
Espoir and Kaneza live in the Nyengwe watershed of Burundi. While Burundi is one of the countries most afflicted by poverty, Espoir and Kaneza demonstrate a way out. "Before we joined Plant With Purpose Burundi, I was not able to feed my children sufficiently. Our production was very low due to the lack of agricultural […]
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About Our Work, Burundi, Ethiopia, Mexico, Photo Essays
Ethiopia to Carlsbad: A round-the-globe look at Plant With Purpose
Over the course of the past few months, much of our Plant With Purpose team has been around the globe to connect with our international programs, our supporters, and each other. As we transition into fall, we look back at a few late summer highlights from the Plant With Purpose global community with appreciation and […]
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blog, Burundi
Jordan: From Chaos to Change
In Plant With Purpose's programs, financial or environmental transformation is just an outward manifestation of spiritual change that has taken place internally. Our partner, Jordan, a farmer in Burundi exemplifies this process very clearly. As the lessons he learned from the Seeds of Change curriculum sank in, it not only gave him a new way […]
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