This Wednesday, 7th May 2025, GRS continued its efforts to support and supervise the impactful work of weeding sweet potato and potato fields within the community agriculture program. This initiative is part of an ongoing commitment to strengthen food security and promote inclusive local development.

More than just a farming activity, this effort is a powerful tool for social cohesion, bringing together members of the community—especially women and other marginalised groups—in a spirit of solidarity, collaboration, and mutual support. By working side by side in the fields, participants not only contribute to the cultivation of essential crops but also build meaningful connections that foster unity and trust within the community.

GRS is proud to stand with these resilient individuals and continues to create safe, inclusive spaces where empowerment, dignity, and shared responsibility thrive. Through these kinds of field-based initiatives, the organisation helps lay the foundation for both sustainable agriculture and stronger social bonds.

As part of its mission to empower vulnerable communities, GRS is leading an agricultural revolution in Matutu, Rutana Province, through the development of a 7-hectare model farm. This land serves as a hands-on training centre where local farmers are taught modern, climate-smart farming techniques and coached on the use of high-yield seeds. The aim is to significantly increase harvests, ensure food security, and end hunger in the region. Beyond subsistence farming, GRS also promotes the cultivation of exportable cash crops, generating income and foreign currency to support Burundi’s economic development and capacity to import essential goods.

To strengthen local resilience and promote inclusive development, GRS is establishing a modern Community Training Centre in Gitaba Zone, Rutana Commune, located in the newly created Province of Burunga, South-Eastern Burundi

The purpose of this new centre is to offer community-focused training and support in the following key areas:

• Social Behaviour Change: Promoting positive attitudes and practices for harmonious living.
• Skills Development: Equipping youth and marginalized groups with vocational and entrepreneurial skills.
• Psychological Counseling and Orientation: Providing care and guidance for victims of gender-based violence.
• Youth Space: Creating a safe, engaging environment for young people to learn, connect, and express themselves.
• Capacity Building: Strengthening community capacities for sustainable development and self-reliance.

This initiative reflects GRS’s ongoing commitment to transforming lives through education, empowerment, and community support.

As part of its community empowerment efforts, GRS organized a vital agricultural activity on Friday, May 2, 2025, in the locality of Matutu-Gitaba, Rutana. Under the supervision of GRS, community members engaged in weeding sweet potato and potato crops planted as part of a model agricultural initiative.

This modern plantation serves as a practical learning field for local farmers and acts as an agricultural school for the entire Gitaba-Matutu community. The weeding session was not only a farming activity but also a platform for promoting social cohesion. Community members had the opportunity to reflect on values such as mutual support, collaboration, and unity.

Given that over 90% of Burundi’s population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, such initiatives are crucial. They contribute to improved agricultural practices, increased productivity, and strengthened community bonds. Through this activity, GRS is supporting food security, knowledge sharing, and sustainable development in rural Burundi

During the visit to install the first Integrated Multimedia Library (IML) room at Gitaba public elementary school in Rutana province, Grassroots Relief Services (GRS)  provided school kits to 50 vulnerable primary and secondary school students. This action is part of the Access to Education and Leadership building of Vulnerable Children (AELVC) initiative.

As usual, the ceremony of donation to the students took place in the presence of the school director, administrative authorities and families of the beneficiaries. The school kits included learning supplies (notebooks, pens, erasers, etc.) and especially English books for the grade 6. In addition, 200 additional books included in the national school curriculum were offered to the school thanks to the support of King's School International - Burundi. This support in learning books was very much appreciated by the school management, considering the limited resources available.

The next session of the AELVC program is scheduled for the start of the 2023-2024 school year. GRS continues to mobilize partners to support this initiative that contributes to Education For All and targets more children in different regions and countries.
Donations to the program are still being received online and partnerships can be solicited by contacting the organization's management 

Cooperative creation that groups women to empower them through loan and saving system and promote income-generating activities in Rutana commune.

In the framework to empower the vulnerable community of Gitaba,GRS selected 30 women who are poorer than others and grouped them in an Association the 20^th of May 2023.After listening to their small projects they have, GRS gave them capital money for them to carry out such projects.GRS was monitoring the implementation of those projects. The main projects they chose were raising domestic animals such as pigs and rabbits. Others chose to do business in reselling tomatoes, bananas etc.

The positive results from those projects are:

• Ability for those women to be able to buy some school items for their children
• To reduce poverty in their families
• Feel confident and not to rely on their husbands
• Buy clothes for them and their children

Note that we selected few among many women who need assistance.