Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020
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Norwegian Church Aid
Burundi Strategy
2016-2020
Updated 24 September 2015
1 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020Table of contents
List of abbreviations ......................................................................... 3
Executive summary ......................................................................... 4
1.Context analysis ........................................................................... 5
2.Lessons learned ............................................................................ 9
3.Geographic focus .........................................................................10
4.Theory of Change for NCA Burundi .................................................11
5.Strengthening civil society ............................................................14
6.Programmes................................................................................16
6.1. Global Programme: Economic Empowerment ......................................... 17
6.2. Global Programme: Climate Resilience ...................................................... 20
6.3. Global Programme: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene............................. 22
6.4. Contextual Programme: Gender-Based Violence .................................... 24
7.Emergency preparedness and response ..........................................25
8.Finance and funding .....................................................................26
9.Monitoring and evaluation .............................................................28
10.Organisational prerequisites ........................................................29
11.Risk management ......................................................................31
List of References ...........................................................................33
Annex 1: Map showing project areas .................................................35
Annex 2: Partner information ...........................................................36
Annex 3: Cross-cutting issues and strengthening civil society ...............46
Annex 4: Programme results frameworks ..........................................47
Annex 5: Funding strategy and targets ..............................................49
Annex 6: Planned evaluations ..........................................................52
Annex 7: Risk analysis and management ...........................................53
Annex 8: Baseline process ...............................................................55
2 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020List of abbreviations
ABS Agro- Business Services
ACT Action By Churches Together
ADDF Association pour la Défense des Droits de la Femme
AFEV Action en Faveur des Enfants Vulnérables
BBIN Burundi Business Incubator
CARE Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere
CEJP Commission Episcopale Justice et Paix Burundi
CEPBU Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte au Burundi
CLTS Community Led Total Sanitation
CNEB Conseil National des Eglises du Burundi
DHS Demographic and Health Surveys
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
EMUSO Entente Mutuelle et Solidarité
EPRP Emergency and Preparedness Response Plan
FBO Faith-Based Organisation
GBV Gender Based Violence
GDP Gross Domestic Product
HAP Humanitarian Accountability Partnership
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
MoU Memoradum of Understanding
NCA Norwegian Church Aid
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
ODA Official development assistance
ODEDIM Organisation Diocésaine pour l’Entraide et le Développement Intégral de
Muyinga
OPDE Oeuvre Humanitaire pour la Protection et le Développement de l’Enfant
en Difficulté
REFLECT Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community
Techniques
TF Task Force
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNICEF The United Nations Children's Fund
UNIPROBA Unissons-nous pour la Promotion des Batwas
WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
ZOA Netherland based International NGO
3 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020Executive summary
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world 1. Approximately 80% of the estimat-
ed population of 10.88 million lives below the poverty line. Inequalities between the capi-
tal, Bujumbura, and the rest of the country, remain high. Subsistence farming is still the
main livelihood but because of low productivity and climate variability, among other fac-
tors, people struggle to secure their livelihoods.
NCA has therefore chosen to focus on improved livelihoods and living conditions in the
geographical areas of Kirundo and Bujumbura rural. The main target group is women,
Batwa2 and youth. Women face higher rates of unemployment, lower access to resources
(land, credit), and have less voice in decision making than men, and social norms impede
their engagement in economic activities. Batwa face a low social status and score high on
poverty indicators linked to land ownership, medical assistance, education and food secu-
rity. Youth constitutes a major part of the work force but lack income and employment
opportunities, and under the present political difficult situation, youth are vulnerable to
pressure to join political militant groups.
NCA and partners will develop agricultural practice in a climate sensitive way in close
collaboration with local communities to create new livelihood opportunities, and promote
small scale entrepreneurship linked to agriculture. In addition there will be a WASH com-
ponent, both for consumption and for use in agriculture. To implement the strategy, NCA
and partners will build on former experience and competencies in community mobiliza-
tion, using REFLECT3 methods to build skills, knowledge and awareness in communities
and ensure ownership and sustainability of results. Community associations and commit-
tees that were built and strengthened during the previous strategic period will serve as
ready entry-points for business development and task forces in the climate resilience
programme.
In addition to empowering communities as described in this programme, the NCA Burun-
di country programme for 2016-2020 will endeavour to:
strengthen civil society and build bridges between civil society and local govern-
mental authorities;
support and develop faith-based organisations to enable them to realize their vi-
sions and mission and set goals for changes, through religious platforms;
contribute to enable civil society, including faith-based organisations, to be con-
nected and able to mobilise communities to reduce their material poverty and im-
prove their know-how.
1
180 out of 187, UNDP 2014
2
The Batwa (singular = Mutwa) of Burundi are of ‘Pygmy’ origin, and traditionally were hunters and worked as
potters or as musicians and entertainers
3
REFLECT, which stands for “Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques”
approaches literacy through the identification of issues and problems encountered, discussion possible solutions
and spelling out the words as you go along.
4 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20201. Context analysis
Burundi, a landlocked country situated in the Great Lakes region, is one of the world‘s
poorest countries. It was ranked as the 180th out of 187 countries and territories on the
2014 human development index. Approximately 80% of the estimated population of
10.88 million lives below the poverty line. This has serious repercussions on the ability of
households to meet basic needs and places Burundi at the top of the Global hunger in-
dex, with the highest level of malnutrition in the world.
Burundi started to emerge from military regimes and civil war in 2005 when democratic
governance structures were restored after years of chaos. Although active conflict has
diminished, peace and reconciliation remain fragile and unpredictable. On the eve of the
2015 elections, violence broke out over the incumbent president’s run for a third term in
office, deemed by opposition, key Civil Society Organisations and protesters in the capital
to be unconstitutional. Threats from youth militia is one of the reasons why more than a
150,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries, and about 100 were killed and more
than a 1000 demonstrates were wounded by the police force. Despite national and inter-
national claims of lack of credibility, transparency and peacefulness, as well as several
attempts to bring the parties to dialogue, the elections went ahead more or less as
scheduled. The elections, in which the incumbent president gained 69% of the vote, were
declared as “not free and credible” by the UN Security Council, and violence has contin-
ued to date.
Poverty analysis and socio economic situation
Burundi’s civil conflict disrupted public services and private investments. Despite recon-
struction efforts, the Burundian economy is still weak due to a reliance on subsistence
agriculture, undiversified and low-value exports, weak infrastructure, weak governance
and institutional capacity, inadequate access to funding, and very low private sector in-
vestment. More than 50% of the national budget was financed by external Donors before
the conflict around the 2015 elections.
In addition to the challenges linked to the present political situation as described above,
Burundi is facing structural and economic difficulties due to i) population pressure; ii)
lack of land; iii) rapid loss of natural resources with the current rate of deforestation es-
timated at 2% a year , iv) low know-how and exploitation of land and other resources.
This situation is aggravated by the lack of a viable secondary sector able to relieve pres-
sure on the primary sector, but also by poor use of natural resources (water and land),
tools and techniques.
The population density is very high, with around 421 inhabitants per square km (com-
pared to an average 40 for sub-sharan developing countries) (World Bank, 2015), and an
average population growth of 2.4% each year. It is projected that the population will
have doubled in 25 years if it continues growing at the prevailing rate. Unless family
planning is prioritized, population growth is a serious threat in a country where the aver-
age fertility rate ranked between 6.03 as of 2013 and 7.57 in 1988.
The agricultural sector represents less than 40% of GDP while some 90% of the popula-
tion is dependent on it, and the rural population derives 95% of its income from it. Agri-
culture is predominately rain-fed (as opposed to irrigated), which makes it vulnerable to
weather variability and climate change. Research predicts an increase in both droughts
5 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020and extreme rainfall, which poses an additional challenge for sustaining livelihoods and
food security. The 2015 NCA baseline study from Kirundo and Bujumbura rural, shows
that while most farmers have some knowledge of, and apply some techniques to reduce
the vulnerability of their production, which shows the potential of the regions, this is not
sufficient to increase production and avoid significant losses. In addition, numerous
communities are affected by land conflicts and the legacy of injustices and atrocities left
unaddressed after the end of the civil war.
The lack of job opportunities outside the agricultural sector is, amongst other things, due
to low economic investment, an underdeveloped private sector, limited access to capital
and low job creation in the public sector. The lack of employment opportunities is felt
particularly keenly by youth. The population is very young, with 47% being under the
age of 15, and 67% under the age of 25.
The high levels of power abuse, such as corruption and nepotism, at all levels of the ad-
ministration, also hamper business development. With a small private sector, the state is
in practice the sole provider of formal employment.
Conflicts centre on access to power, which in turn provides access to economic resources.
Elites play a critical role in taking advantage of communities' poverty and lack of educa-
tion to secure their own divergent interests. Grievances around the elites' misuse of pow-
er is an important part of the backdrop to the recent protests: Although the focus has
been on the controversy around a third term for the current president, frustration over
abuse of power was mounting long before the protests broke out, as were concerns over
increased repression and limitations to freedom of speech. It is yet unclear to what ex-
tent the protests enjoy popular support outside the capital, as most rural areas tradition-
ally have been strongholds of support for the president and his ruling party. However,
the flow of refugees and reports of intimidation from Imbonerakure also in rural areas
indicate that the on-going conflicts are deeply influencing also rural communities. In this
context, citizens, and particularly youth, are vulnerable to manipulation and recruitment
into violence, notably into militant political youth wings.
A lack of other economic opportunities increasing the dependence on natural resources
and agriculture decreases the resilience of rural populations. Climate change with an an-
ticipated higher frequency of droughts and extreme weather events, coupled with limited
capacity to cope due to low capacity and lack of knowledge and resources, weak social
structures and inadequate infrastructure, make the situation in rural Burundi critical. Cli-
mate events shocks the asset-thin households as they have few assets to sell to raise the
cash needed to cope.
Women account for 55 per cent of the workforce and do 70 per cent of farm work, yet
women have fewer rights. They have fewer possibilities than men to access resources
such as land and loans, and, despite progress by the adoption of gender quotas, women
still have little participation in the decision making processes. Women do not have the
right to inherit land, which leaves many homeless and without a livelihood in the case of
separation from their husbands. Social norms, such as gender roles (reproductive and
productive) are still impeding the possibility for women to engage in business and eco-
nomic empowerment. According to UNDP, women represent only around 2% in the sec-
ondary sector and around 4% in the tertiary sector. Nearly 46% of female youth of sec-
ondary school age do not go to school compared to 34% of male youth of the same age.
The Batwa, an indigenous minority group representing about 1% of the population,
scores high on the majority of indicators addressing poverty and deprivation. Among this
6 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020group, only 3 % own a plot of land of one hectare and above. 60% have less than 5
acres, and 15% have less than one acre. More than 74% do not have a medical insur-
ance card, making it a challenge to access health services; more than 87% in the survey
say they rarely meet their needs for food, as less than 18% have more than one meal
per day.
Role of civil society
Civil society in Burundi is diverse, but most organizations are quite weak. It consists of
human rights organizations and pressure groups on one hand, and development and re-
lief organizations, including church or faith-based organizations, on the other hand.
Women and youth organizations can be found in either group.
The first category of civil society organizations is very vocal about government accounta-
bility to the extent that the government associates it with opposition parties who want to
destabilize the government. Their potential for influencing social and political arena is
weakened by the lack of capacity in organization and strategy development, dependency
on external funding as well as lack of coordination and cohesion.
The second category of civil society organisations are more service delivery oriented or-
ganisations, putting much emphasis on immediate needs of citizens, and often fill the gap
of government responsibility to provide basic services, related to health, agriculture,
WASH, education, shelter, etc. At the exception of the Catholic Church, which has at
many events, especially during the recent political crisis, publicly criticized government
policies, laws and regulations, most religious and faith based organisations tend to be
soft civil society organisations, with charity or development characteristics.
Specialized organizations, focussing on youth, women or other social categories such as
Batwa, disabled, children, trade unions or other professional organizations, do exist and
fall in both categories described above, though the majority is in the second category.
Women organisations have been active on the advocacy, since the peace negotiations in
Arusha in end 90s and are still very vocal on gender equality and women’s rights. Youth
organisations are less visible on the ground of advocacy due to, on one hand, the lack of
time and willingness to engage in activities not generating income and, on the other
hand, pessimism towards results of engagement4. Existing youth organizations are also
limited in action by lack of sustainable funding, and lack of legitimate and recognized
representation of youth.
Batwa organisation such as UNIPROBA, NCA partner, is trying to combine the two, ser-
vice delivery and advocacy, seeking Batwa participation both on economic development
and political arena.
4
NCA, 2014
7 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020NCA response
NCA will respond to this with three programmes: climate resilience, economic empow-
erment and access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), with a particular view to
youth, women and Batwa as target groups. This choice is in line with government policies
and strategies such as the National Plan for Agricultural investment (Ministry of Agricul-
ture and livelihood, strategy 2012-2017), the National Policy for Climate Change (Minis-
try of Water and Environment 2013) and the National policy for hygiene and sanitation,
as well as the National Strategy for Water (Ministry of Water and Environment, 2012), all
of them stemming from the National Poverty Reduction strategy (2012). Gender equality
will constitute a key element of the strategy since women are poorer and more vulnera-
ble than men.
Economic and social development is closely linked to peace and security, and while an
improvement in communities’ livelihoods and economic opportunities, should also make
them more resilient to political shocks, NCA will also, in association with other stakehold-
ers, advocate for a peaceful settlement of the current conflicts, and for increased ac-
countability from power holders at local and national level, which in turn is key to sus-
tainable economic development. NCA will also, in different gathering of right holders,
mobilize rights holders around corruption and its impact on economic and social devel-
opment.
8 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20202. Lessons learned
The country strategy builds upon experience and lessons learnt during the 2010-2015
strategic period, including two programme evaluations (2012 and 2014).
A first important lesson learned concerns the outreach of programmes and activities. In
order to have more impact, interventions should be more focussed both geographically
and programmatically. This has influenced the choice of three programmes with strong
synergies: climate resilience, economic empowerment and WASH, to be implemented in
two geographic locations.
Second, experience with local partners has shown that there is high need for close moni-
toring and support with financial management, including anti-corruption measures. This
has implications for how NCA Burundi works with local partners, number of staff for ca-
pacity development and monitoring.
Third, collaboration with FBOs has confirmed their potential to act for social change.
Some of them have shown strong advocacy skills and experience. This is particularly true
where they enjoy a certain moral independence from the state, such as the Catholic
Church, and this experience will be built upon in the next period.
Fourth, it is necessary to take a long-term approach while working with income generat-
ing activities. This means that rather than focusing on daily income, minimum standards
such as a business plan and organisational structure should be developed in participation
with the right holders’ associations. This improves sustainability and reduces conflicts
between participants.
Finally, a framework for discussion and reflection that creates awareness, such as RE-
FLECT circles provides benefits beyond literacy, and can be adapted for all types of sub-
jects, particularly where mobilisation is a key factor. As an example the women partici-
pants in REFLECT circles focused on gender realized that saving and loan groups were
the best strategy to improve their economic independence and spontaneously started
such groups.
9 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20203. Geographic focus
Over the past few years, NCA has gradually concentrated geographically within Burundi
in order to achieve better results. For the next period, NCA Burundi will continue working
in only two provinces, Kirundo and Bujumbura Rural, located respectively in the north
and west of the country, see annex 1.
In addition to taking into account NCA’s previous experience and strong networks in
these provinces, they were selected based on a country-wide assessment of the following
characteristics:
1) Potential for and consequences of conflict, in particular the burden it has posed on the
economy for many years.
2) Vulnerability to climate change and seasonal variability. This relates most frequently
to drought in Kirundo and soil erosion as well as floods for Bujumbura rural.
3) Very few other NGOs work in these provinces, especially in food security and liveli-
hoods (OCHA, 2015). Most of the NGOs previously working in Kirundo have closed for
coordination and budgetary reasons.
Before the civil war of 1993, Kirundo was the "breadbasket of the country", feeding a
large part of the country with vegetables and cereals. Family farming was market-
oriented. While agriculture is still the main livelihood, the province today has the coun-
try’s highest rates of malnutrition, as a sharp 53.9% decline in agricultural production
has been witnessed between 1996 and 2012 . Over 60% of the households in Kirundo
live under food insecurity and 83 % of the population lives in poverty. Deforestation and
a changing climate have exacerbated the situation and recurrent droughts have been
observed from 2000, leading to crop failure. However, Kirundo has eight freshwater lakes
which offer unexploited opportunities, for instance field irrigation.
The countryside of Bujumbura Rural was used as a base by retreating rebel groups dur-
ing the decade-long civil war (1993-2009), and paid a high price in terms of destruction
of infrastructure and a high number of youth formerly associated with armed groups. The
continued political instability in the region has severely limited economic and social ac-
tivities. Adding to this, the province has a rugged terrain with frequent landslides and
floods, often leading to crop destruction, loss of human lives and destruction of essential
infrastructure such as water supply, schools and health centres. The elements leading to
poverty and lack of livelihoods become even harsher for particular groups including
women, and Batwa, as a result of their social status.
Other provinces neighbouring Kirundo and Bujumbura Rural, especially Mwaro and
Muyinga have similar conditions. NCA leaves room in the strategy to expand if factors,
such as additional funding, becomes available, or situational circumstances change.
10 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20204. Theory of Change for NCA Burundi
As seen in the context analysis, the main challenges for Burundi in general, and for in-
habitants of Kirundo and Bujumbura rural provinces in particular, are the high levels of
poverty resulting from the very weak and vulnerable agriculture-based economy and the
chronic instability due to endless power struggles. Livelihoods are further compromised
by the low levels of access to basic services. The lack of economic opportunities, in par-
ticular for youth, women and Batwa, both within and outside of the agricultural sector,
also contributes to the political instability and insecurity. With very limited industrial and
manufacturing activity, everyone is looking towards agricultural production which is far
from being sufficient to support subsistence, let alone to boost economic development.
Programme goal
In the face of the above mentioned challenges, NCA Burundi has set as a goal for this
strategic period (2016-2020): To improve communities’ livelihood, especially that of
women, youth and Batwa, in the provinces of Kirundo and Bujumbura Rural. This feeds
into NCA's global vision 'Together for a Just World'.
Required preconditions
This will be achieved if the following preconditions 5are in place:
- Communities have food security in the face of climate change and variability
- Communities embrace new ways of generating income
- Communities access basic services, including water, hygiene and sanitation
- Gender equality is a prevalent social norm
- People feel safe (personal security)
- The population has a space for expression and freedom of speech.
Of these, NCA Burundi will work directly on the first three conditions, with WASH as the
main priority under basic services. Gender equality will be addressed as a cross-cutting
issue in all programmes, but more specifically, the issues of gender and social barriers to
entrepreneurship will be addressed in the Economic empowerment programme. Personal
security will not be addressed directly, but through advocacy on the political conflict,
through targeting youth employment and by applying a conflict sensitive approach in all
programming. Formal education and health services will not be addressed directly, but
NCA will work in close collaboration with other actors such as UNICEF. As for the last
condition, strengthening of civil society actors as a democratic force is an integral part of
the strategy, as described in more detail in chapter 5. REFLECT circles will be key to
strengthening community based civil society as this will be a forum/space for information
flow and reflection on rights for youth, Batwa and women.
5
The list covers the main elements but is not exhaustive
11 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020Key Pathways for change: how we will achieve the preconditions.
To allow for food security and even food surplus for value addition and trade, farming
production needs to increase whilst also being resilient to weather variability and climate
change. To achieve this, NCA sees the need to improve farming techniques, increase the
knowledge of changes in weather / climate so that farmers can adapt, and improve the
management of the production both in terms of preservation of harvest and income
management. Access to water and irrigation systems is a pre-requisite in times of
drought.
In order for the community to embrace new ways of generating income, communities
should be able to develop and run correctly micro, small and medium size market orient-
ed enterprises and businesses either by developing non-farming products or by adding
value to agricultural produce. Creating and sustaining enterprises is only viable if mar-
kets are available and accessible. Knowledge on marketing, access to pricing information,
competitiveness of the products as well as a favourable business environment, both legal
or physical are important.
As mentioned, access to basic services, in particular water and sanitation, is a precondi-
tion both to achieve the overall goal and other preconditions. In order to achieve this, the
required infrastructure for access to clean and sufficient water must be in place: in insti-
tutions such as schools, health centres and public markets, and for household consump-
tion and for irrigation. Hygiene and sanitation practices and services must be conducive
to sustaining adequate health conditions. Rights holders’ active participation in the deci-
sion making process on design and implementation of WASH services is important to en-
sure ownership and sustainability, as is community ownership and involvement of local
authorities.
The programme will ensure participation of women and seek to address specific challeng-
es of gender equality such as social constructions and gender roles in order to provide
opportunities for both sex to achieve social and economic empowerment.
Risks
Risks and risk management is further elaborated in chapter 11. Particular note should be
given to risks related to the current political crisis and political climate, such as risks to
personal security, both for staff, partners, rights holders and other participants in the
projects.
Results also depend on the level of democratic engagement by government authorities
and institutions, as they will be key collaborators of NCA in their quality as duty bearers.
As for local government, with whom NCA works more often, often lacks required capacity
and is underfunded and this presents a challenge.
NCA added-value/criteria for selecting preconditions to work on
NCA has selected to work on the three programmes not only because there are acute
needs to reduce poverty, but also because the organisation has gained experience in
building communities’ livelihoods through the development self-confidence (“power with-
in”). NCA has experience and competency in community mobilization and use of methods
such as REFLECT and Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), also in combination. NCAs
capacity to organize rural communities into developments groups (community self-help
12 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020associations6), combined with our long presence in Kirundo and Bujumbura Rural (since
2004) has helped to build good relationship with both local authorities and local commu-
nities. This comes, particularly, as a result of our transparency and accountability princi-
ples in implementation by being open with all key stakeholders about our programmes,
funding and results. Moreover, as almost all NCA and partner staff have been trained on
and practiced “Do No Harm” and conflict sensitivity, local authorities have respect and
recognition of NCA and partners for ensuring that our interventions comes to build social
cohesion and peace.
6 In this strategy, we will seek to organize these groups into cooperatives or Saving and Loans groups (that we
call IKIGEGA, literary meaning Granary)
13 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20205. Strengthening civil society
Working strategically with civil society
NCA will collaborate with local partners who will have the overall responsibility for pro-
gramme implementation, starting from beneficiary selection to the actual work of sup-
porting communities.
The local partners are divided in four main groups:
1. Faith-based organisations (FBOs): at present, NCA plans to work with 5 FBOs:
The development branch of the Catholic Diocese of Muyinga (ODEDIM), which
covers Kirundo, the Anglican Church of Burundi, the Burundi National Council of
Churches (protestant churches), the Peace and Justice Commission (CEJP)of the
Catholic Church and the Pentecostal Church development agency (CEPBU). These
partners will be involved in implementation and advocacy related to the climate
resilience and the economic empowerment programmes. With this group, NCA
wants to ensure that service delivery is linked to advocacy, both at local and
national levels. Working with FBOs helps to reach out to communities with their
grass-root structures and volunteers who are experienced in community
mobilization. The mix of FBOs with other civil organisations helps to build mutual
learning.
2. Civil society organisations (three at present): they will work with their specific
target groups on the economic empowerment and climate resilience programmes.
They will collaborate and share experience with other partners working on similar
programme activities. OPDE on economic empowerment for Youth in Bujumbura
rural, EMUSO on economic empowerment for women in Kirundo, and UNIPROBA
on Climate resilience and economic empowerment for Batwa in both provinces.
3. ADDF and AFEV for the GBV programme. For these two partners, there will be a
transition period of two years to phase-out NCA support in which they will
continue to run transit centres in the province of Bujmbura and Kirundo.
4. Finally, NCA will partner with resource organisations, including one company from
the private sector, Agri- Business Services (ABS). These organisations have
technical competence and will provide capacity building for our local partners and
own staff.
Strengthening civil society through programme work
In order to achieve programmatic results and ensure sustainability, NCA and partners will
build and strengthen community based civil society structures such as village councils,
saving groups, water management committees, and disaster preparedness committees 7.
These community structures will play both the role of community mobilizers and role
models on one hand and the role of local advocacy, thus constituting the bridges be-
tween NCA partners, duty bearers and right holders. For example, in the Climate resili-
ence programme, these community structures will be used as community task forces,
spreading new techniques on climate smart agriculture, the protection of key infrastruc-
tures, and the organisation of community saving and loan-groups (Ikigega) in the Eco-
7
Note that in many places, where some type of community committee already exists (such as peace commit-
tees or WASH committees) it will be more effective to expand the mandate of these committees towards disas-
ter preparedness rather than to create separate committees for each topic.
14 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020nomic Empowerment. The lack of community structures today is a handicap for commu-
nity based development as ownership is not there.
NCA emphasises bridge building between civil society and local government authorities8
in all programmes, and this dialogue expands the room for expression by rights holders.
It is an aim of NCA that structures established are able and motivated to self-initiate pro-
jects in their communities. REFLECT circles will constitute the main forum for building
community civil society groups whereas, at higher levels, NCA Burundi will focus on
building the capacity of networks and umbrella structures in civil society, such as the
Council of churches of Burundi (CNEB) and other relevant networks. Stronger collabora-
tion between actors, such as within the council of churches, will improve the quality of
advocacy needed to achieve programme results, but also leave these structures capable
of a much greater extent to drive issues that concern their members.
Capacitating core partners as civil society actors
Many of NCA's core partners have a relatively weak organizational structure and often
lack visions and clear strategies. Partners implement agreed activities effectively, but the
lack of independence restrains them from growing and becoming sustainable organiza-
tions, financially and programmatically. NCA and local partners will jointly analyse their
needs and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a common commitment to organi-
sational and programmatic development goals, and ensure a perspective on long-term
collaboration despite having yearly contracts. Strategic and operational planning, as well
as financial management and control will be important elements in the capacity building
of local partners. The main challenges in capacity building are mainly related advocacy
skills including policy analysis, standardized monitoring and evaluation practices, ac-
countability to rights holders and duty bearers (applying HAP principles), etc. For finan-
cial management capacity, the main issues are to build internal control systems and to
diversify funding sources so as to avoid dependency on NCA.
Churches and faith based organisations have been relatively less vocal than other civil
society groups and this is what NCA wants to challenge because their legitimacy is a high
potential for speaking for the poor. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) in particular have a
strong representation in the communities where NCA works, with a clear mandate to rep-
resent the poor and neglected. As legitimate moral voices in society, FBOs have a great
potential for developing their roles as human rights defenders and agents for social
change (including the promotion of ethical standards), both at national and local levels.
8
Where these local authorities do not have enough capacity, NCA will provide them support
15 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20206. Programmes
In order to respond to the challenges and preconditions outlined in chapter 4 9 , NCA's
three programmes will be run parallel with the aim to streamline and share resources
and target groups. The Economic Empowerment program aims to create news economic
opportunities, the climate resilience programme to increase agricultural production, and
WASH to serve agricultural production as well as to provide water and sanitation services
to the communities.
The acute poverty of many right holders, in combination with past and current conflict
related grievances, makes it challenging to introduce limited resources and opportunities
in a conflict sensitive way. With basis in the capacity gained and lessons learnt in the
previous strategy period, NCA and partners will take care to ensure clear and transparent
selection processes, invest in communication with the broader community and make visi-
ble the community gains from the programme.
Transitioning from the programmes implemented in 2013-2015 to the new strategy and
programme is expected to be quite logical and smooth for the majority of activities. While
some of the content will be new, activities related to the empowerment of women, Batwa
and youth will follow the same logic as previously. Also in the previous programmes, ag-
riculture and job creation were focus areas, the difference is that this will now be done in
a more systematic way.
The previous programme had support to GBV survivors through transit centres as a sub-
stantial activity. The move from assistance to empowerment will require a transition pe-
riod where centres will still be supported financially, however with a view to increase or-
ganizational capacity and the ability to secure other funding sources. At the same time
NCA and partners will focus on empowering economically former clients as well as vul-
nerable women around the centres, as part of the new programming. The centre of
ADDF, built with NCA/Norad support, could for instance host entrepreneurship training
for women.
For full results frameworks for the programmes, please see annex 4, for an overview of
baseline data collection process, please see annex 8.
9
The theory of change and results framework have been adapted to the Burundian context so there may be
some difference in the wording from NCAs global terminology
16 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20206.1. Global Programme: Economic Empowerment
Needs analysis
Burundi's economy is weak and not diversified. The contribution of the industry sector to
the GDP is only around 18%. Agriculture, which engages more than 90% of the popula-
tion, still represents less than 40% of GDP (mostly coffee and tea). Agriculture which
makes up the most important source of income in rural Burundi , faces numerous chal-
lenges including both climate change and variability, land constraints (due to population
pressure), limited access to technology (the 2015 NCA baseline study shows that while
53% of youth master SMS, only 13% of youth master basic internet use, and even less
master document writing and e-mail) and appropriate farming techniques. The country in
general and the target population in particular needs to find new alternatives to increase
their income. The alternative could be linked to agriculture value chain development or
be non-agriculture based entrepreneurship.
However, business development in Burundi is constrained by several factors: lack of en-
trepreneurship culture in the population, lack of skills and information about how to cre-
ate, manage and maintain a business, low use of new technologies, lack of assets and
access to capital and credit, the regulatory environment, and weak marketing strategies.
Corruption is also a challenge to business development, which not only leads to lack of
transparency in market procurement but also creates unequal access to different produc-
tion factors such as capital and land.
In addition to the above mentioned constraints, NCA target group (women, youth and
Batwa) face particular challenges, linked mostly to social norms and practices. These in-
clude unequal gender roles, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of family planning, un-
safe sexual practices leading to HIV and early pregnancies and early marriages for girls.
Alcohol consumption is a barrier to access and/or maintain capital as men and women
spend their funds on alcohol rather than investing in income generating activities.
Women and girls face particular challenges to succeed and advance economically. In Bu-
rundi social and cultural expectations limit the role of most women in society to that of a
housewife and domestic care givers and implicitly exclude women as potential entrepre-
neurs. Household responsibilities increase with the number of children, and early mar-
riages and pregnancy inhibit girls' chances to be engaged in economic activities. The
2015 baseline study confirmed the unequal distribution of domestic tasks in Kirundo and
Bujumbura. Moreover, most of women and Batwa are limited in their business ambitions
by illiteracy. For Batwa, another specific challenge for raising their level of entrepreneur-
ship is their lack of self-esteem as well as their low level of education.
Programme goal and theory of change
The goal of the economic empowerment programme is to secure sustainable entrepre-
neurship opportunities for women, youth and Batwa in the provinces of Kirundo and Bu-
jumbura rural.
This goal will be achieved if the following key preconditions are in place:
1. Target communities, especially youth, Batwa and women, develop
knowledge, skills and positive attitude towards the creation, the man-
17 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020agement and maintenance of entrepreneurial enterprises, both in agricul-
ture and non-agricultural entrepreneurial activities.
2. Target communities access capital to start and scale up their business
ideas. Community Saving and loans groups are operational and able to mobilize
funds from within and to support individual or collective business initiatives, and
later on linked up to Microfinance institutions or banks.
3. Youth, women and Batwa access local and/or national markets with
competitive products. Access to information on pricing and adequate infrastruc-
ture (roads, market space10, etc.) is a precondition for competitive products to ac-
cess markets.
4. Prevalent gender and social norms are favourable for the economic em-
powerment of women, youth and Batwa. This relates to rights holders own
confidence as well as communities' attitudes.
Programme description
The key components of this programme are 1) to promote entrepreneurship and enable
value addition on products and, 2) enable access to capital and markets, and 3) address
norms constraining economic activities of women, youth and Batwa.
The main strategies to achieve this will be through training and mobilisation of rights
holders, media campaigns and advocacy. As many of the enterprises to be developed will
depend on agricultural produce and the availability of water, the programme will work in
close synergy with the climate resilience and WASH programmes. While the Climate resil-
ience programme will seek to increase production, the Economic Empowerment will seek,
in the case of agri-business, to increase the value of the agricultural produce (through
improved processing, conservation, packaging, labelling and marketing) and to access
the market, both locally and nationally. As to the links between the Economic Empow-
erment and the WASH programmes, the latter will seek to sensitize business areas (mar-
ket spaces, processing factories, etc.) to appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices.
In addition to illiteracy and lack of time due to housework, lack of skills was seen by
many respondents (25%) as a barrier to business development. To promote entrepre-
neurship and enable value addition, NCA and partners will increase the capacity of youth,
women and Batwa on business development and management, market opportunity anal-
ysis and marketing skills. This will be done through cooperation with a resource partner,
the Burundi Business Incubator (BBIN), which is specialized in the promotion of entre-
preneurship and ABS, specialized in Agriculture development, with an emphasis on the
use of modern technology such as computers and mobile phones where possible. The
programme will also use media, community facilitators, cultural activities and sport to
foster a culture of entrepreneurship and self-employment in the communities.
64% of respondents in the 2015 baseline study stated that access to capital was a barrier
to business development. To address the lack of capital, the programme will encourage
rights holders to organise into loan and saving groups (IKIGA, literary meaning “grana-
ry”), in order to increase the possibility of accessing capital for investment in small and
10
But as market space building is often too expensive, NCA would focus on market space sanitation in the
WASH programme, and would limits, , its work in EE programme at sensitizing communities and local authori-
ties to rehabilitate their market space themselves.
18 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020medium size enterprises. NCA Burundi will collaborate with NCA Tanzania for experience
sharing with the VICOBA members and initiators. These enterprises could be established
either by individual members of the groups or as cooperatives of more than one person.
To address challenges with market access and the regulatory environment, NCA and
partners will carry out advocacy, particularly together with religious leaders and net-
works, on barriers to entrepreneurship development in general and around business eth-
ics, corruption in particular. The advocacy will be based on research to identify the im-
pact of corruption and other regulatory and administrative barriers which limit the possi-
bility of establishing and expanding businesses or reduce market access.
Finally, to address social norms and practices in order to create enabling factors for
business development for youth, women, and Batwa, NCA and partners will use the RE-
FLECT methodology to develop the skills, knowledge, and perceptions of the community
in general and rights holders in particular on issues such as gender roles, HIV, illiteracy,
family planning and alcohol abuse. The rate of schooling of Batwa children is low com-
pared to others (the 2015 baseline study showed that 77% of Batwa boys, and 56% of
Batwa girls are in school). Batwa will also be sensitized to increase the rates of children’s
education.
19 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-20206.2. Global Programme: Climate Resilience
Needs analysis
The impact of global warming and poorer yields in combination with the fact that 40 % of
Burundi's GDP is based on agriculture makes the country vulnerable and at high risk of
climate change. Negative effects such as exacerbated child malnutrition and increased
dependence on humanitarian aid could be the direct effects. Experiences from NCA's
work on food production in Kirundo and Bujumbura rural in the last three years have
shown the extent of weather dependence for agricultural production. Research predicts
annual precipitation losses of 50–100 mm from the year 2000 to 2050 in the northern
(especially Kirundo) and eastern provinces, areas that already have a history of intermit-
tent drought. From 1998 to 2005, 35 % of livestock died due to drought, and a vast ma-
jority of respondents (90%) to the NCA baseline study stated that they had seen changes
in the patterns and amounts of rainfall over the past decade. The data suggests a need
for drought-tolerant agricultural technologies and natural resource management in these
regions. On the other hand, annual precipitation is predicted to increase by up to 200
mm in the western provinces (including Bujumbura rural), and by more than 200 mm in
the rest of the country (ibid). This could be favourable for crop production, but, as seen
in February 2014, it increases the risk of flooding and landslides with resulting loss of
lives.
Reasons for the slow improvement in agricultural production over the last decade in-
cludes soil degradation, limited arable land in the face of a mounting demographic pres-
sure (only 36% of Burundi is arable land) , poor farming techniques and limited access to
quality farming inputs such as quality seeds and fertilizers. Land management is unstruc-
tured, and people often do not know the exact borders or size of their land (58% of men,
25 % of women know the borders of their land according to the 2015 baseline study). At
the same time, there are opportunities: marshes, if drained and well managed, could be
made available for farming, and the numerous lakes provide opportunities for irrigation
and fisheries both in Kirundo and Bujumbura rural.
Water and land management, including small scale irrigation, land management plan-
ning, and marshes exploitation will be crucial to respond to the problems above and as
the baseline study shows some prior knowledge on these topics in the provinces Kirundo
and Bujumbura rural exists already .
Programme goal and theory of change
The goal of this programme is to build communities’ resilience to climate change in Ki-
rundo and Bujumbura rural. This will be achieved if the following preconditions are in
place:
1. Key infrastructures such as roads, houses, schools and soil, are protected
and more resilient to climate change. As pointed out in the 2015 World Bank
vulnerability assessment, access to infrastructure, and implementing risk mitigation
standards in daily life and during crisis is essential for resilience and in particular the
ability to spring back from disasters.
2. Knowledge of climate change and weather extremes and coping mechanisms
is increased and applied by farming communities. Availability of up-to-date
20 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020information and ownership of knowledge within communities is essential for
sustainability of results.
3. Farming inputs (seeds, fertilisers, techniques) are available and accessible
to farmers. This is essential to achieve food security and an increase of such a scale
that a surplus is possible. Food security is essential in Kirundo and Bujumbura as
much of the family’s livelihoods depends upon agriculture.
4. Soil, land and water (rain and lakes) management and protection are
improved. The agricultural sector in both Kirundo and Bujumbura rural is highly
vulnerable to shock, the population vulnerable to flooding and landslides so
communities must be trained to mitigate risks.
5. Institutional capacity for response to climate change and variability is
enhanced. It is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens, through for
instance early warning systems and contingency plans. Governmental institutions
enhance capacity and public functions in regards to risk mitigation.
Programme description
The program aims for increased sustainability and resilience of agriculture. NCA and
partners will in-crease the know-how and access to information on agricultural practices
and climate risks, risk and resilience methodologies. The availability of information on
climate change, the development of early warning system or communication approach as
well as a drought/flood response and mitigation practices such as contingency plans con-
stitute key elements of climate change adaptation and resilience. The 2015 baseline
study shows that little information on climate change is available in the communities
(less than 20%) and that few communities have a contingency plan (less than 5%). A bi-
annual national symposium (which has not previously been held in Burundi) will bring
civil society actors, practitioners, researchers and government officials together to raise
awareness and discuss practical recommendations for the way forward. The REFLECT
method will be used to promote dialogue and learning in communities, supported by the
above-mentioned research.
To improve agriculture, NCA and partners will support local institutions to revive and
strengthen the capacity and engagement of local seeds centres. These provide selected
seeds and plants, transfer knowledge on seed production and regeneration and ensure
the availability of pest management practices. Livestock farming will enhance the availa-
bility of organic fertilisers. NCA will also ensure communities ownership by setting up
community task forces (TF) which will support the communities in mitigating and re-
sponding to disasters.
NCA and partners will document and ensure dialogue between farmers (REFLECT groups)
and local institutions (and present findings in the bi annual symposium) on climate-smart
techniques including appropriate and affordable irrigations mechanisms such as drip and
pot irrigation, seed priming, micro dosing, crop rotation, and watershed management
such as afforestation, anti-erosion and rain water retention. Promotion of new techniques
by committed farmers who can act as role models will promote peer-to-peer learning and
scale-up of initiatives. The use of low-cost and available technology such as mobile
phones will be promoted for communication. However NCA will also explore the possibil-
ity of using marshes for agriculture through participatory sustainable management sys-
tems. For infrastructure development and protection, NCA will sometimes work opera-
tionally, but in all cases community ownership is essential to ensure sustainability
21 Norwegian Church Aid Burundi Strategy 2016-2020through maintenance. As population pressure on land is one of the problems for sustain-
able land management, family planning is one of the issues that will be touched upon in
the REFLECT discussions, during capacity building of farmers on different technics.
6.3. Global Programme: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Needs analysis
At the national level, 73% of the population has access to an improved water source. The
numbers are lower in rural areas, in Kirundo province, for instance, only 36% of the pop-
ulation access an improved water source. About 55% of the population uses unimproved
latrines in Burundi, most of which are open holes. In rural areas this figure amounts to
58%, against 25% in urban areas. For Batwa, the figure is even higher: 64% use unim-
proved toilets and another 12% practice open defecation (against 2% for the total popu-
lation). The percentage of Batwa of those practicing open defecation is even higher in
Kirundo, at nearly 20%. This structural deficiency is exacerbated by the lack of
knowledge and training on the use and maintenance of water and sanitation infrastruc-
tures. Funding is also an issue: often the institutions responsible for maintenance do not
have the finances necessary.
The effect is a high prevalence of waterborne diseases in Burundi. The 2010 DHS survey
found that 25% of children under five had at least one diarrhoea episode in the two
weeks prior to the survey.
As an agriculture-based economy, access to water is important, but also under pressure.
The persistent deforestation of common land threatens watersheds, and erosion and run-
off reduces the recharge of ground water. The situation is further complicated by changes
in precipitation patterns. The synergies between access to water and sanitation and the
other programmes are strong: climate resilience is needed for sustainable access to wa-
ter, and WASH infrastructure is a prerequisite both for sustainable agricultural develop-
ment and improved productivity as well as business viability (hygiene and sanitation are
key to market places and other business areas).
Programme goal and theory of change
The overall goal of the WASH programme is to increase the level of access to adequate
and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services and practices for improved health
in communities of Kirundo and Bujumbura rural. This will be achieved through the follow-
ing preconditions:
1. Communities decide to enter the WASH program following a self-
assessment of the wash condition of their village; this is essential as it will
lead to ownership of the program and results. Ownership will translate in the
sustainability of the program and results.
2. Local government is involved in planning and provides direction. This is a
perquisite to achieve a positive working environment in the communities, in
particular with regards to maintenance and the potential for overall planning and
coordination. NCA’s experience is also that the involvement of local government
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