The four pillars
Land and Lives
Land has been at the heart of this work from the beginning. We started in Matara with thirty families who had endured generations of what the local term calls modern slavery. From day one they defined the vision for their own community, elected their own leaders, and built the shared infrastructure themselves. Ten years on, that became the model.
Health Care and Nutrition
A family cannot climb out of poverty while basic needs go unmet. We work on maternal and child health, sanitation and hygiene, and access to clean water, schools and clinics for every community we enter. We also strengthen the community's own leadership, because that is what holds after we go.
Market-Led Agriculture
Owning land does not help if the land cannot be farmed profitably. Market-led agriculture means planting what will sell rather than trying to sell what you planted. Modern methods, better quality, more harvests per year, on less overall ground.
Financial Empowerment
Budgeting, saving and investing. Communal savings groups, typically led by women. Credit for agricultural supplies and equipment. Farming associations so that a family business can grow into an employer.
The seven institutions
Kwizera Academy
Top performing school in Bubanza province for six years running.
Kwizera Trade School
900 graduates in six years. Between them they have started 28 businesses.
Laura Shook Health Centre
Focused on the first 1,000 days of a child's life. 12,997 patients seen in 2021.
One Cup a Day
Breakfast for 55,000 children across 22 communities. After 120 days on the programme, children double their weight.
Burundi Fortified Foods
Affordable, high quality, locally milled food. Nutrition you can buy rather than wait for.
Kazoza Finance
2,878 loans in 2021, from $300 to $25,000. Banking for people no bank would see.
Kazoza Radio and TV
Practical training and market information for young entrepreneurs, in Burundi and beyond.
The Kibira project
Launched in 2023 under TerraFund, the goal is to scale up restoration and reforestation across Bubanza and Cibitoke provinces, expanding agroforestry to protect the ecological integrity of high-value forest while improving the livelihoods of the people living beside it.
The project is built to create direct economic opportunity, with particular focus on including women, young people and Batwa communities.
- 162,000Trees committed by December 2029
- Prunus africana, Maesopsis eminii, Grevillea robusta, Newtonia buchananii, Persea americana, Bambousa vulgarisSpecies being restored
