Where a child is born should not decide how far that child can go.
In rural Burundi, we work alongside whole families to connect learning, health, nutrition, livelihoods and local leadership, because families never face these challenges one at a time.
What’s growing in Butanuka
1,350
~270
280
70+
176
50
Poverty is rarely one problem.
A child arrives at school hungry. A mother’s savings disappear with one illness. A farmer grows food but still struggles to feed the household. These challenges don’t arrive separately. They meet inside the same home, at the same time.
So we don’t work on them separately either. A healthier child learns better. A financially stronger parent keeps children in school. A stronger school opens opportunities for a whole community. That’s what we mean by lasting change.
How we work
A child arrives at school hungry. A mother’s savings disappear with one illness. A farmer grows food but still struggles to feed the household. These challenges don’t arrive separately. They meet inside the same home, at the same time.
So we don’t work on them separately either. A healthier child learns better. A financially stronger parent keeps children in school. A stronger school opens opportunities for a whole community. That’s what we mean by lasting change.
Our story
It began with a cup of porridge.
In 2018, Janvier Manirakiza registered Dreaming for Change with no funding and no staff. He went to Butanuka, a remote village in Bubanza Province, to listen. With a few local volunteers, he started a porridge programme for 50 malnourished children. It quickly grew to hundreds, and then into everything we do today.
Mission.

Vision.
Help a whole family move forward.
When one person gains opportunity, the benefit reaches their children, their household and their neighbours. Your support connects all of it.
