From Rations to Resilience: Helping Refugee Children Thrive in Burundi

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Livelihood In Burundi
Monday, July 13, 2026
In Burundi's Musenyi refugee site, thousands of children face an uncertain future. More than 21,000 refugees, most of them children, now live in a settlement originally designed for just 10,000 people. At the same time, humanitarian funding cuts, rising food prices, climate shocks, and growing needs are stretching already limited resources.
 

Yet amid these challenges, refugee families are demonstrating remarkable resilience. Funded by World Food Programme and UNHCR, World Vision International Burundi implemented a resilience programme, enabling refugees to move beyond dependence on emergency assistance to build sustainable livelihoods through community-led cooperatives. These initiatives are helping families earn income, access food and hygiene products, strengthen social cohesion, and create brighter futures for their children.

One example is the Susuruka Cooperative, a refugee-led group that produces soap, engages in agriculture, and supports small businesses. Through training, technical support, and start-up funding, cooperative members have developed the skills and confidence to generate income, support their households, and contribute to their wider communities.

Most importantly, these livelihoods are helping children. Families report improved access to food and essential hygiene items, while the cooperative supplies maize and beans to school feeding programmes reaching 4,500 children in Musenyi. Better nutrition and stronger household incomes help children stay healthy, attend school, and pursue opportunities that would otherwise be beyond reach.
 
This reflects World Vision's belief that every child deserves the opportunity to experience life in all its fullness. By combining humanitarian assistance with long-term resilience and livelihood support, World Vision is helping refugee families not only survive today's crisis but build the foundations for a more secure future. Through community-led solutions, families are gaining the tools to adapt to economic and climate-related shocks, reduce dependency on aid, and create lasting change for their children.

While the impact is visible, opportunities remain limited. Funding constraints have restricted the expansion of livelihood cooperatives, leaving many refugee families without access to the same opportunities. Continued donor investment can help scale proven solutions, strengthen child well-being, expand school feeding supply chains, and ensure more refugee children grow up with hope, dignity, and the chance to thrive.

By investing in resilience today, donors can help transform lives, supporting children and families to move from dependence to opportunity, from vulnerability to self-reliance, and from surviving to thriving
East Asia Burundi Global Hunger Crisis Disaster Management Economic Development UNHCR World Food Programme (WFP)
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