Torrential rains and heavy flooding are currently causing devastating damage in Burundi. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes, roads, fields and entire towns are under water.
STELP founder Serkan Eren is currently on the ground with a team providing emergency aid. “It’s been raining for months and everything is now under water. Almost no fields can be cultivated here anymore. People are losing their entire livelihood. It’s a catastrophe and nobody in Germany is aware of it,” says Eren.
Almost two thirds of the population in Burundi live below the poverty line. Most people work in agriculture and grow pulses, maize, bananas or sweet potatoes. Even before the flood disaster, a large proportion of the population was malnourished or undernourished. Now the situation is getting worse.
The 40-year-old and his team are currently distributing food parcels. STELP is also working with the Baden-Württemberg Stiftng Entwicklungs-Zusammenarbeit (SEZ) and local partners Fondation Stamm and Kaz’O’zah to help traders rebuild their businesses. Ange Muyubira, Managing Director of Kaz’O’zah in Bujumbura, describes the situation as follows: “In Gatumba and the neighboring regions alone, over 100,000 people have lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of the floods. The packages will provide rapid support to those directly affected; at the same time, the start-up capital will enable around 100 families to build a new livelihood in a place protected from flooding.”
The floods have brought entire parts of the country to a standstill .
The incessant rain has caused the water level of Lake Tanganyika to rise considerably and the Kanyosha River to overflow. “The water has now reached the economic capital of Burundi, Bujumbura. The flood has brought entire parts of the country to a standstill,” Eren continues. “In this disaster of unprecedented proportions, we are glad to be working with an energetic organization like STELP. Now we need to listen carefully to our local partners in order to overcome the situation together,” says Philipp Keil, Managing Director of SEZ.
Burundi, one of the countries that has contributed least to climate change, bears the brunt of the consequences.
According to climate experts, the floods are linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon and are a direct consequence of climate change. Burundi, one of the countries that has contributed least to climate change, is bearing the brunt of the consequences. Poor land use also plays a role. Many fields and houses have been built in flood-prone areas.
Friendly relations have linked Baden-Württemberg and Burundi since the 1980s. The official partnership agreement between the two regions was signed in 2014.
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We have created separate donation campaigns for our aid in Burundi:
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