Faida Alex’s family’s roots are in Burundi, but until late 2012 the 22-year-old had never lived there.
In 1972, long before he was born, his parents left Burundi due to turmoil in the country. They landed in the Mtabila refu­gee camp in Kasulu, Tanzania. Later, people fleeing the 1993-2005 civil war in Burundi joined them.

In July 2012 the Tanzanian government announced it would close all camps of Burundian refugees. It said no compelling reasons remained for them to stay in Tanzania.

The Mtabila camp was closed in late 2012. Alex, his two brothers and sister were among about 33,000 people involuntarily re­patriated to Burundi. Their parents had died earlier in Tanzania.

Staff members of the Mennonite Central Committee partner Help Channel Burundi, or HCB, knew the returnees faced hardships. Land is in short supply in Burundi. Many children had been out of school for several years and spoke Swahili and English, not the French and Kirundi taught in Burundian schools. Families had difficulty supporting themselves despite help from the United Nations.

At HCB’s request, MCC sent more than 2,000 boxes containing 48,960 cans of turkey and beef to help address immediate needs. The meat came from MCC’s annual mobile meat-canning program in communities across the U.S. and Canada.

The meat was distributed to more than 8,000 households in Burundi from late 2013 through last spring. In addition, MCC school kits were provided to more than 8,000 children, and 269,581 pounds of maize, purchased in Burundi with money from MCC, was distributed.

Relief from misery

When Alex and his siblings arrived in Burundi from Tanzania, they settled in the area their parents had left in 1972.

“Our uncles told us that our parents sold their plot of land before fleeing to Tanzania,” Alex said. “Our aunt gave us a very small plot of land for only constructing our house. We are in a nameless misery. Sometimes, we think it is better to return to Tanzania because there at least we can get work in the fields.”

Alex was dubious when HCB showed up to identify potential beneficiaries for food relief. In his experience, such organizations never come back. He was relieved when HCB returned with the MCC canned meat and school kits. He remembered thinking, “We will have some days without thinking about what we will eat tomorrow.”