Change Takes Root

ECW-funded school environmental clubs, implemented by World Vision, are empowering crisis-affected students to take action and raise awareness on climate change in Burundi

By Education Cannot Wait

March 6^th, 2024

Adapted Story from the Field. Special contribution by World Vision Burundi.

Eighteen-year-old Latifa uses her hands to carefully pat down the soil around a tree sapling.

The sheer impact of her environmental club’s efforts surround her. Three hundred young trees now grow throughout the schoolyard and surrounding area in Nyanza-Lac Commune, Makamba Province, Burundi.

Latifa is a member of Kigembezi Basic School’s environmental club. She, along with 30 schoolmates, make up the club which was created to coordinate activities to raise awareness about environmental issues in Burundi and around the world. The club also works to help reduce environmental impact at school and in surrounding communities.

"I know that once we have trees here at school, we will have fresh air and set a conducive learning environment.” ~Latifa, 18

The initiative, implemented by World Vision Burundi and funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises in the United Nations system, is supporting the establishment of environmental clubs throughout the country and is part of ECW’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Burundi. The multi-year programme, titled “Komezawige'' – Kirundi for “Keep Studying” – aims to improve the continuity of education for crisis-affected children and youth in the country.

Eighteen-year-old Latifa plants a new sapling in front of her school in Burundi. © World Vision Burundi

The trees planted around Kigembezi Basic School are not there to beautify the school grounds. They serve a very specific purpose.

“Nyanza-Lac Commune, where Kigembezi Basic School is located, is a low-lying place where it's very hot. We expect – once the trees grow – to enjoy fresh air and set a conducive teaching and learning environment for both teachers and children.” ~Honoré Nkurunziza, School Headmaster

Honoré and Latifa are also aware that climate impacts and environmental degradation negatively impact farming activities, and have a harmful effect on food security. Strong winds are also becoming more common in Makamba Province, and pose a threat to the school building, Latifa says.

“We plant trees to protect classes from heavy winds that would destroy the roofs and hence damage other properties that are inside.” ~Latifa

By planting the saplings around the school, the Kigembezi environmental club is, in essence, putting up a shield to better protect their education and futures from the effects of climate shocks that are increasing in frequency and severity.

Latifa and other members of the environmental club hold up the tree saplings they will be planting around the school. © World Vision Burundi

Burundi’s Climate Crisis

Burundi is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including changing climate patterns which affect food production, contribute to disasters and impact every area of life.

One of Africa's smallest countries, Burundi is among those contributing the least to climate change, yet is highly vulnerable to its effects. According to the ND-GAIN Country Index, which summarizes a country's vulnerability to climate change in combination with its readiness to improve resilience, of 185 countries, Burundi is the 19th most vulnerable and the 172nd most ready country to improve resilience – illustrating both a need for greater investment to increase readiness, and an urgency for action.

While some areas in the country have been seeing decreased rain and resulting droughts, other areas – especially in the mountains – are experiencing intensifying heavy rainfall, leading to landslides that have destroyed entire villages and taken countless lives. Beyond a role in rain production and wind protection, trees also reduce the risk of landslides, as tree roots reinforce soil layers and anchor them to bedrock, helping to prevent soil movement which leads to deadly landslides.

Along with planting trees, the Kigembezi Basic School environmental club is also working to educate the community about the importance of taking action to curb climate change.

“We encourage pupils to plant trees and the club has already reached out beyond the school to sensitize neighbors to do the same. Some children have even taken home tree seedlings to plant them around their homes.” ~Honoré Nkurunziza, Headmaster

Latifa and her friends are determined to continue taking action – both big and small – to increase their school and community’s resilience to future climate shocks. They know that what they do today could mean the difference between a thriving, resilient school in the future, and a community of girls and boys out of school following a destructive storm which has destroyed the school building and surrounding homes.

Latifa proudly shows off a tree that will be planted in front of Kigembezi Basic School. © World Vision Burundi

ECW Bolsters School Resilience

In Burundi, displacement caused by climate-induced disasters, instability and violence is impacting the entire country, especially the most vulnerable: children and youth.

Increasingly, flooding, torrential rains, landslides and high winds have led to the destruction of infrastructure – fuelling widespread food insecurity and impacting essential services, including education. This cycle of chronic crises has left an estimated 1.9 million school-age girls and boys out of school.

To address the needs of children in the country, ECW launched a Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Burundi in 2022. The programme is delivered in coordination with the Government by a consortia led by World Vision International and UNICEF. These investments are supporting partners to bolster school resilience, promote safe school environments, strengthen the educational infrastructure and improve the quality of education.

“The children and youth of Burundi deserve the safety, protection, hope and opportunity that quality education environments provide. This is their inherent human right. By investing in education for every girl and boy in Burundi, we are investing in young people, their future, as well as in economic security, peace and sustainable development as the nation arises from the multiplying shocks of climate change, conflict, COVID-19, displacement and socio-economic instability.” ~Yasmine Sherif, ECW Executive Director

Students, with the support of World Vision, prepare to plant more trees around Kigembezi Basic School. © World Vision Burundi

Right Here, Right Now

New ECW data reveals that, since 2020, 62 million children and adolescents affected by climate shocks are in desperate need of education support around the globe.

Ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education for the world’s most vulnerable girls and boys is an essential component in ECW’s global efforts to address the climate crisis, call for climate action and reach the targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. ECW investments are deployed and already making an impact on the frontlines of climate change-induced disasters, displacement and emergencies – and making a difference in the lives and futures of children like Latifa. But additional resources are urgently needed.

ECW’s emergency climate appeal calls on donors to mobilize US$150 million in new, additional funding to scale up ECW’s response to climate change. With increased resources, ECW and strategic partners can reach an additional two million girls and boys most impacted by the climate crisis with safe, holistic, quality education.

The time to act is right here, right now. Their education – and our world – cannot wait.

Latifa and other environmental club members plant a tree in front of their school in Burundi. © World Vision Burundi

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