Bujumbura Diocese Development Organisation (ODDBU) .

ODDBU is a branch of the Catholic diocese of Bujumbura focusing on development issues. Their mission is to promote peace through socio-economic growth by involving communities in their own development. By providing stable livelihoods ODDBU hope to reduce the number of factors that lead to violent conflict.

Conflict Resolution through Farming

Burundi faces a crisis over land, and the struggle to access or control land is now the main cause of many rural conflicts. This project aims to address the situation in Ryarusera and Bugarama, two areas which have seen a particularly high number of land disputes, by supporting farming activities, and promoting peaceful conflict resolution.

Participants are local farmers and are offered workshops in listening, mediation, conflict management, and conflict resolution, encouraging participants to resolve disputes out of court. ODDBU also provide more practical training in farming methods, as well as material support and have distributed more than 30,000 seedlings of wheat, potatoes, fruit and vegetables, as well as 170 goats, to 950 participants.

Reintegrating Ex-Combatants

This project, which ran from March to December 2008, aimed to re-establish former soldiers in society. It provided various income generating opportunities to help them become economically self-sufficient and integrated.

Demobilised soldiers can present a problem post-conflict, having sometimes lost their homes or livelihoods, and become estranged from their communities. Some reports suggest that the current insecurity in some parts of Burundi is largely caused by ex-combatants who have not been able to reintegrate socio-economically, and have resorted to criminal activities. This project therefore provided opportunities for income generation to reduce ex-combatants’ poverty, support their families, and promote community stability. 258 participants were successfully provided with livelihoods such as farming, carpentry, masonry and tailoring.

Reintegrating Child Soldiers

This project helps reintegrate child soldiers who served as combatants or were involved in various ways in the Burundian armed conflict. OBDDU works to demobilise children who were separated from their families, and help them return to their families or communities. They also provide healthcare, psychosocial counselling, educational and recreational activities, and skills training while the children are waiting to be reunited with their families. The project has successfully reintegrated 474 young people.