How it all started ….
Libby left the UK to work in Burundi in 1997 and began caring for orphaned babies and children. A ‘Mum’ to many children and teenagers, Libby spends her time parenting and discipling young people. Honda is a Burundian with a big heart for the hundreds of desperate children begging on the streets of Bujumbura, with little hope of change for their lives. Honda and Libby were married in 2000 and live in Burundi where they lead and direct the charity. They have spent over 20 years working with the poor and needy, those marginalized by poverty, the war and social injustice and is now a ‘Dad’ to over 150 children. He spends hours each week in discussions with local people who are in desperate need and has gained great experience working in refugee camps and with various local churches in deprived areas.

The charity started when 5 boys followed Libby home begging for food and refuge. Although the Nahimana’s had no space in their house, the boys asked if they could convert an empty shipping container in the garden into a shelter …. and so the charity began.

Honda, Libby and their family remain committed to seeing as many children and young people as possible taken off the street, completely changing their environment – giving them a family, a home and an education.

The Work ….
Children in RoH receive different levels of care depending on their situation. There are two Hope Houses where some of them live and receive everything they need for life, whereas others are helped within their own community. Some are given one meal a day and a place to wash themselves and their clothes, whilst others have been reunited with members of their own family but continue to receive help from RoH for education.

All the children and young people supported by RoH attend mainstream school or another training facility.

Hope House Mutakura
The Mutakura Hope House was completed and opened in July 2011 and immediately became home to 26 boys and young men, who previously lived in 2 rented Hope Houses.

For the last 8 years, the Hope House in Mutakura has also provided fresh, clean drinking water to poor people in the area who have no access to water.

Hope House Gitega
Hope House Gitega was built over 2 years and opened in September 2018. It is situated on the outskirts of Gitega, the second city in Burundi and is home to 12 children aged 9 – 16 (5 boys and 7 girls).

The Gitega Hope House is built on the side of a hill and has a small garden which has been planted with fruit trees, which will hopefully provide the family with fruit in the coming years.

Burundi
Burundi is a small landlocked country, about the size of Wales, bordered by Rwanda to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west and Tanzania to the east and south. Its western border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika, with the financial capital, Bujumbura, located beside the north eastern end of the lake.

Burundi does not have many natural resources and has little manufacturing capability. Most of the 11m population are occupied in agriculture – coffee and tea being the predominant export earners. Only 14% of the population live in urban areas. It suffers from great poverty, with over half the population living below the poverty line.

Many people were killed during the civil war, so thousands of children were orphaned and found their way to Bujumbura where they lived on the streets, some as young as 4 years old. In addition, the extreme poverty in which many families lived, led others to leave home in an attempt to find a better life by begging on the streets.

This increase in poverty has led to whole families, not just children, living on the streets of Bujumbura, attempting to survive by begging. It has also forced some single mothers on the streets to turn to prostitution in order to provide for themselves and their children.