Child Sponsorship background from Cibitoke, Burundi

SOS Children's Village Cibitoke

Cibitoke is the major city of the province of the same name, situated at the east of the capital city Bujumbura. This province is the most affected by the crisis, which has been paralysing the country since the armed conflicts of 1993. In this region, where the population density is the highest in the country, one third of the children are half-orphans, one child out of ten is an orphan and one third of the women live with their children in extreme poverty. In addition, the rate of the children enrolled in school is low. The setting up of an SOS structure in this region turned out to be of utmost importance as the humanitarian needs are urgent.

Other SOS Projects in Cibitoke

The Village currently has an SOS Nursery, an SOS Primary School, an SOS Social Centre and an SOS Medical Centre, which are also open to children from the neighbourhood. The SOS Nursery can take in around 75 children and has three rooms, an office for the director, an administration block and a kitchen. The SOS Primary School gives 216 children from the Village and the neighbouring areas the opportunity to attend lessons in its six classrooms.

The SOS Social and Medical Centre was opened with the aim of providing the people in the neighbourhood with medical care, informing them about local preventative measures, providing troubled families social and material assistance and offering counselling in matters of education for children and career guidance for parents. Conceived with the aim of strengthening the families against poverty, this program is acting in cooperation with the local authorities. This centre has a laboratory, a consultation room, a treatment room, two isolation rooms, a dispensing chemist and two rooms for the social workers.