Diane (10), left Burundi while in Class Three at Kumwumi Primary School. However, while at the camp, Diane has not been able to resume school. She lacks the basic learning materials. “I do not have clothes, shoes, books, pen, ruler and a school bag,” she says.
However, Diane is excited about the prospect of returning to class. She is one of the pupils who will start schooling at the primary school being constructed by NRC in Mtendeli.

Diane quotes (from June 2017 interview):

“In Burundi, I liked to study. I had materials: clothes, shoes, exercise books, rubber, pencil, mathematical set, pen, shoes and body lotion.”
“We had a charming teacher who made us laugh. The school was built well and I had a friend.”
“In Burundi, I had a friend. I miss my father. I miss my friend. I miss my teacher who made us laugh. I miss my home.”
“What made us flee was political warfare. People were killed, taken at night, we could not know where they had taken them. Even my father, they took him at night.”
“In Burundi because there was a selective war, I stopped school for one year. I see they are building schools here. I pray that I also study here.”
“In Burundi, I likes Mathematics, Kirundi. I want to teach. I want to become a teacher too.”
“At school in Burundi, I likes Mathematics, Kirundi. I want to study. I want to become a teacher too.”
“In school, I likes Mathematics, I liked Kirundi, I wanted to study very hard so that I become a teacher too.”
“I see they are building the school there. I am happy because they are building. I will also go to study there to get knowledge.”
“I am hoping I will also be taken to study at that school.”
“I am happy because I see they are building the school and I have been selected to study from that school.”
“Thank you for listening to my story.”
“I hope I will get teachers who will make me laugh like those that I had in Burundi. I hope I will get friends as those I had in Burundi.”
Lyrics of her song: “When Petro was still young, he saw other children going to school, he escorted them. On the way he turned back, while very sad, then he told his parents, to bring him to school. When he started school, he did not delay to finish, and now he succeeded, he is teaching other pupils. He is teaching other pupils.”

Photo: NRC/Ingrid Prestetun — Ten-year-old Diane impatiently awaits the completion of her new school. She often visits the construction site to check in on the progress. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Waiting for school to start

Published 28. Aug 2017

For the first time since she fled the violence in Burundi, Diane will have a safe learning environment again.

Along with hundreds of thousands of Burundians, she has sought safety in Tanzania with her family.

A dangerous journey

“It was around 11pm. We were sleeping,” Diane’s mother, Josiane, recounts. “Suddenly we heard noises outside. Some armed people had surrounded our house.”

A male voice called her husband’s name and demanded that he step outside. Josiane says: “He obliged. They grabbed him and dragged him into the darkness.”

This was the beginning of a dangerous journey for the family, who, like many other Burundians, lost a father and a husband to violence fuelled by political division.

Diane was devastated and traumatised by the time she arrived with her family in Mtendeli refugee camp, in Tanzania’s north-western Kigoma region. Her school and her best friend were long behind her.

The name ‘Imbonerakure’ sends cold shivers down the spine of Josiane, as she remembers how they took away her husband on that fateful night. Imbonerakure is the name of a local militia group in Ruyigi Province of Burundi that is known for abductions and gruesome killings of its victims.

“It was around 11pm. We were sleeping in the house. Suddenly we heard commotions outside. Some people had surrounded our house. A man called my husband’s name and demanded that he steps outside. He obliged. “You thought we were joking,” another man was heard saying. They grabbed him and dragged him into the darkness.

Josiane’s husband was a mason, while she was a farmer. They were living in good houses. They cultivated cassava, beans and vegetable. They had bought the land that they lived on. All this changed after this incident.

She was traumatized. Fear was her daily companion. Two days later, she packed her bag with clothes, took her children and left the village. They traveled at night to avoid being obstructed. They walked all the way to the Tanzanian border. It took her five hours to reach the border.

Intially they were about 60 people walking, a large crowd of desperate souls. But this worked to their disadvantage when somewhere along the road they were attacked by bandits and forced to surrender all their belongings and money. Afterwards, people opted to split and walk in smaller groups of five to ten. When they reached the border they were only eight.

Children in conflict
“The children, especially Diane, are very alive to everything that was happening, they know when there are problems. They are capable of detecting feelings and moods around their villages,” says Josiane. She narrated that following the abduction, the children could not stop crying. They urged their mother to leave the area and take them to a safer place.

After the journey to Tanzania, the children were falling sick. They were also suffering from complex psychosocial trauma. Josiane recalls incidents where her children felt that all was lost and life had taken a turn for the worst. Feelings of nostalgia, remembering the days when their father used to buy clothes and food brought tears and pain. They complained of living in tents with no light. They were very depressed. Meanwhile Josiane has her own psychological wounds to heal. She misses her husband and the quiet home life of yesterday. These are wounds that the eyes cannot see.

Any good thing inside camp? She acknowledges that while life is harsh, at the least they are able to receive food rations to keep them alive. In addition, except for domestic squabbles between neighbours, the refugee camps are relatively peaceful. There are no marauding militiamen killing men and abducting children.

How important is education to her? “Whenever there is education, children prosper. They get the support that they need to grow. Education provides new opportunities for literacy and numeracy as well as employment for young people,” she says. Her fourth born daughter, Diane (10), left Burundi while in Class Three at Kumwumi Primary School. However, while at the camp, Diane has not been able to resume school. She lacks the basic learning materials. “She lacks clothes, shoes, books, pen, ruler and a school bag,” she says.
However, Diane is excited about the prospect of returning to class. She is one of the pupils who will start schooling at the primary school being constructed by NRC in Mtendeli. “They frequently walk to the construction site to see how the work is progressing. It is a clear indication of their level of excitement,” says Josiane.
The school is being built near her home. This means that Diane will not have any challenge going to school. Diane likes Kirundi language and Mathematics. She misses her father, her home, her friends, her school and one teacher who used to tell stories in class. She hopes to make new friends and meet new teachers.
Multiple displacement
Josiane is not a stranger to displacement and being a refugee. She has been displaced from her home three times over her lifetime. However, the latest incident is by far the most traumatizing. She was first displaced in 1994 following the assassination of the Burundian president and the genocide that ensued. During that incident, she fled Burundi to Tanzania and settled at Mtendeli. Her second displacement happened in 2003 following deadly tribal clashes mostly targeting the Hutu community. Again she fled to Tanzania and settled at Karago refugee camp. The current situation marks her third displacement experience.
Never going back
Josiane is never going back to Burundi. She was highly traumatized by the abduction of her husband. She wants her daughter to grow up and become a successful woman. But she does not wish for her to return to Burundi. “She is better off living in Tanzania, or a third country, but not in Burundi. That country is built on an unstable foundation,” she says.
Photo: NRC/Ingrid Prestetun — Diane with her mother, Josiane. The two suffered immense psychological trauma upon fleeing Burundi, only to find no schools for Diane to attend. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

Dismal camp conditions

In Mtendeli camp, to Diane’s dismay, there were no schools. Nor were there books or pens for her to study on her own.

These shortages are not just in Mtendeli camp. Throughout the region, refugee camps quickly filled and have been well over capacity for some time. The conditions are dire.

“There’s not enough space to provide the minimum safety and privacy that every person deserves,” explains Carolina Lucia Mansur, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) camp management expert in Tanzania. “Fulfilling daily activities like education, sleeping, washing and dressing can become a real challenge.”

The inability to educate these children, who make up half of the total residents, is a pressing issue. In these camps, refugee children gather in large groups, up to three hundred apiece, to try to learn from volunteer teachers in the woods. Their chairs are stones and their blackboards are the dirt.

There’s not enough space to provide the minimum safety and privacy that every person deserves. Fulfilling daily activities like education, sleeping, washing and dressing can become a real challenge.”

A new school

NRC is building a primary school in Mtendeli refugee camp for children without proper classrooms, as well as a youth education centre. The school construction is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The primary school is being built near Diane’s home, so she’ll have no trouble going to school. Her excitement is mounting, and her impatience grows. She and her friends frequently visit the construction site to monitor the progress.

“I hope I will get teachers who make me laugh, like those that I had in Burundi,” says Diane. “I want to study very hard so I can become a teacher, too.”

Diane (10), left Burundi while in Class Three at Kumwumi Primary School. However, while at Mtendeli refugee camp in Tanzania, Diane has not been able to resume school. She lacks the basic learning materials. “I do not have clothes, shoes, books, pen, ruler and a school bag,” she says.
However, Diane is excited about the prospect of returning to class. She is one of the pupils who will start schooling at the primary school being constructed by NRC in Mtendeli.

Diane quotes (from June 2017 interview):

“In Burundi, I liked to study. I had materials: clothes, shoes, exercise books, rubber, pencil, mathematical set, pen, shoes and body lotion.”
“We had a charming teacher who made us laugh. The school was built well and I had a friend.”
“In Burundi, I had a friend. I miss my father. I miss my friend. I miss my teacher who made us laugh. I miss my home.”
“What made us flee was political warfare. People were killed, taken at night, we could not know where they had taken them. Even my father, they took him at night.”
“In Burundi because there was a selective war, I stopped school for one year. I see they are building schools here. I pray that I also study here.”
“In Burundi, I likes Mathematics, Kirundi. I want to teach. I want to become a teacher too.”
“At school in Burundi, I likes Mathematics, Kirundi. I want to study. I want to become a teacher too.”
“In school, I likes Mathematics, I liked Kirundi, I wanted to study very hard so that I become a teacher too.”
“I see they are building the school there. I am happy because they are building. I will also go to study there to get knowledge.”
“I am hoping I will also be taken to study at that school.”
“I am happy because I see they are building the school and I have been selected to study from that school.”
“Thank you for listening to my story.”
“I hope I will get teachers who will make me laugh like those that I had in Burundi. I hope I will get friends as those I had in Burundi.”
Lyrics of her song: “When Petro was still young, he saw other children going to school, he escorted them. On the way he turned back, while very sad, then he told his parents, to bring him to school. When he started school, he did not delay to finish, and now he succeeded, he is teaching other pupils. He is teaching other pupils.”

Photo: NRC/Ingrid Prestetun — Diane shows her excitement during a visit to her future school’s construction site. Photo: Ingrid Prestetun/NRC

See our Tanzania country page for more information on NRC’s operation throughout the country.

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