What We Do
Focus In Burundi
Education
h2 Empower has intiiated the The Edward L. Nykanzi Burundi Scholarship, named in honor of the late Burundian scholar and author. This scholarship has enabled talented youth languishing in a refugee camp in Rwanda to complete their university degree, building a new life for themselves and their family.
One student's story:
“My name is Lyna Sandra IRANEZEREZA, a second born in a family of five. I am twenty one years old. I finished my secondary school in 2021. At that time my wish was to study nursing sciences at university , and the only way to get it was to enter a private university , very expensive.My parents weren’t able to pay for it. A gift from heaven came into my life, that was H2 Empower and Helen Boxwill, they gave me a lot of support. Now I am in the year in nursing sciences. I am so thankful for what H2 Empower and Helen BOXWILL are doing in my life.”
The Edward L. Nyankanzi Scholarship Fund for Exceptional Students
h2 Empower has created a scholarship fund targeted for youth who have demonstrated exceptional ability in high school but, due to intense poverty, could not continue on to higher education. So far we have been able to give 25 full scholarships for these bright young minds to study medicine, psychology, business administration, social work, nursing and more! This program has grown to include some orphans in secondary schools and students attending specialized vocational schools. Without this supportive opportunity, these young men and women would never be able to get an advanced education. Their communities would be robbed of their potential and their individual employment opportunities would be terribly limited.
Each student has demonstrated a commitment to take care of their families and others in the community along their path to success paying it forward.
An investment in education goes farther than you can ever imagine.
Women's Literacy Program
h2 Empower supported a women’s literacy project in 2 areas of Bujumbura, to enable the 100 women who are participating in a microloan project to increase literacy, business, and math skills, increasing the odds of long-term stability with their business. These women attended classes twice a week, where they learned reading, writing, and business math.. We worked with the neighborhood community to provide books, education supplies, and trained teachers. Family planning was also added to the curriculum.
This successful program enabled women to improve their lives and that of their children. The project was partially funded by a grant from the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation.
The Importance Of Language
One of our newest programs has provided English books to learn English as a foreign language for Burundi refugees in the UNHRC Mahama Refugee Camp in eastern Rwanda in conjunction with MUELA. Founded in 2015, Mahama acts as home to over 60,000 refugees trying to forge a new future for themselves; providing hope is as vital as water. Students of this program are now learning English through the great efforts of MUELA, a grassroots organization run by the Burundi refugees themselves which provides useful life skills amid the difficult conditions of camp. Together, we hope that such skills will help them move forward to build a fruitful future..
Water Is Life
h2 Empower works in collaboration with NGO’s and local churches in Burundi to support water projects. One particular project consisted of providing water up a rugged mountain to three villages and one primary school. Together we were able to positively impact a community of 1,000 people. Now women and children don’t have to spend hours a day carrying water up and down a mountain, enabling them to achieve more in their daily life.
Entrepreneurship
H2 Empower support individuals and groups launch small business to support themselves and their families while offering goods and services to their community. Through our work connecting donors to Burundian entrepreneurs we were able to help start a barbershop in a refugee camp as well as travel agency. A group of refugees have been able to start a restaurant which is now a cornerstone for services for refugees in Kigali, Rwanda.
Entrepreneurship
Microloan Project for Entrepreneurs
h2 Empower, in conjunction with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington’s Beyond Our Walls committee, provided an opportunity for 103 women to each take a loan to launch their small business in the city of Bujumbura. As entrepreneurs, these women spearheaded a variety of businesses including selling vegetables, raising animals for market, craft-making, and other endeavors. As part of the microloan process, these female entrepreneurs were selected by a committee after their completed training. Thereafter, through the committee, we continually supported their efforts to sustain these small businesses. This powerful opportunity provides financial means for women to effectively support their family, send their children to school, pay rent, pay back their loan, and hopefully even expand their business.
A small amount of money can go an infinite way for transforming lives in Burundi.
Below is a description, in the words of program director Fulgence Ndagijimana, of Donavine’s accomplishment after receiving a microloan through h2 Empower.
“Donavine sells Cassava roots which are dried and then provide flour after they take them to the milling machine. With $100 (120,000 Burundi Francs), she can buy and transport 200 Kg of cassava roots, then pays just $8 to grind them at a mill before selling flour out of her home. All of this takes just one week and she gets a profit of 32,000 BF ($27). As a widow, she will have to pay rent and get food, and send her children to school with that amount. All on less than $1 a day. But she is among the lucky ones. I have heard stories like these many many times.”