LWF Burundi is strongly committed to promote community ownership spirit, making its partners understand that all the projects are essentially theirs. In this way, a sense of responsibility is nurtured and this in turn ensures the long term sustainability of our interventions, while empowering the communities we are working with. The LWF Livelihoods officer Juvenal Nzobambona also explained that by involving communities the cost of interventions will decrease over time, as more activities are gradually carried out by the people.

The most recent example of this approach is the development of several mosaic resistant cassava multiplication plots in all our four intervention collines.

These plots have been set up in close cooperation with 33 local associations who have all met critical selection criteria. LWF has furthermore prepared a memorandum of understanding that was signed by both sides as a sign of the community engagement.

Citegetse Marie Thérèse, the chairperson of Twiteho abamugaye association (32 members) which is comprised of families with one or more handicapped persons, praises the food security initiative. She believes that members of her association expect large revenues from the cassava project. In her opinion, associations build up strong linkages between people from different social backgrounds, thus building common values governing their relationships.

Citegetse also explained that through training, members of associations learn to understand their needs and analyse them, as well as plan and implement actions to address those needs.

For Mbesherubusa Balthazar from an interethnic association, the cassava project has come at exactly the right time. He explained that the area had done without cassava plantings for over 4 years, mainly due to the Mosaic virus couples with a total lack of external assistance.

This was detrimental for the regional food security, and sustained the conditions of extreme poverty and suffering. Now, he is sure he no longer has to struggle to get the casava cuttings and the nutricious roots, his first means to start providing for his family.