While the coronavirus pandemic has put Christian Aid’s normal activities on hold, the charity is committed to continue its work to transform lives in Burundi.

This week is Christian Aid Week and it won’t look like any other in its 75-year history.

Nevertheless, this year’s Christian Aid Week project is to finish the work started in Burundi.

In February last year, intrepid explorer Harry Owens, who lives in St John’s, travelled to this small central African country to train women in the art of beekeeping and how to make the protective equipment required.

He also taught the young men of the communities he visited how to make the beehives.

This project enabled the production of honey, which supplements the income of subsistence farmers enabling them to buy additional luxuries such as medication for their children, pay for school fees and additional nutrition. Since Harry’s visit the people he has trained have risen to the challenge.

Burundi is no longer reliant on expensive imports and is now producing its own beehives and protective equipment. The charity says that the people Harry trained are now practised and confident in the art of beekeeping and in turn train others in bee husbandry.

Christian Aid has created a ’centre of excellence’ for beekeeping in the north of the Burundi.

Here, others can receive training at field schools and a co-operative has been set up where honey can be collected, processed and sent to market.

BEEKEEPERS

Co-operative coffee farmer Donate (pronounced Donartey) was invited with 10 other women from her village to attend the one-day training Harry was doing with 100 beekeepers over two days in the north of Burundi.

She said: ’I was very interested in how to increase our colony and make more colonies in other hives - I want to put that into practice in my hives.

’With this knowledge I’d like to increase up to 10 hives from my three hives I currently have. We didn’t know about checking the hives before. If we’d have known about checking the queen maybe two of the colonies wouldn’t have left. That’s why I’m really grateful and hopeful for the future.’

Donate was able to stay for the sewing classes provided by Anna Burden and Harry.

She said: ’It was really beneficial to me. I’d like to do more training and get a sewing machine of my own one day.’

Christian Aid’s Isle of Man co-ordinator Louise Whitelegg said: ’We want to finish this project but cannot do so with out the generous support of the island, this Christian Aid Week.

’We are all experiencing challenges during this dreadful virus, but our Burundian friends are also suffering. They too have experienced loss and illness at the hands of Covid, but this is on top of being one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. Please help us to finish what we started.’

See https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ burundibees