Village Health Works

10/09/2026

Magara Meza, meaning Good Health, is an initiative that aims to transform the fight against chronic malnutrition in Burundi. Working with cooperative farms, VHW is growing peanuts and will process and distribute its own nutritionally dense peanut-based porridge. The result is an innovative, sustainable, and locally led system that will save lives and serve as a model for other communities across Burundi and beyond.

VHW received important machinery this week and is one step closer to opening its new peanut-processing facility. Stay tuned.

09/25/2026

At Village Health Works, the community we serve is the driving force behind everything we do. When water recently stopped flowing from the taps in Kigutu, local community members and staff from VHW’s community engagement team joined forces to take action.

Early in the morning, they went out into the field to conduct a meticulous and thorough inspection of the entire water supply system. Faced with signs that the water catchments were deteriorating, they came up with a plan to enable families in Kigutu to quickly regain regular access to water.

VHW’s community engagement program manager, Vital Nshimirimana, pledged to provide the supplies needed to repair the catchments. Kigutu’s residents pledged to provide the labor. This is what community-led action looks like: local ownership paired with organizational support to solve a critical basic need.

09/21/2026

Gaella was a senior at Kigutu International Academy when she got the news that most students can only dream of: her application to Harvard had been accepted. But just as she was about to collect her visa from the American embassy, the U.S. issued a travel ban for Burundi.

Her visa was suddenly cancelled. She could not go to Harvard. In an instant, everything she had spent years working so hard for was gone.

“I was devastated. My admission to Harvard wasn’t just my dream. It belonged to all of us in Burundi,” she wrote a year ago.

But Gaella didn’t give up. She spent a year at home in Burundi, taking coding courses, engaging in advocacy for women in STEM, and applying to other colleges. Last month, she arrived at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar to start her life as a university student. She loves it so far, and wants other young people to know that “if one thing doesn’t work out, something else will.”

“My experience has become a motivation for me,” she said. “How can I do more? It’s become a reference point. I always want to do better. I used that experience to create another beautiful one.”

09/08/2026

Strengthening nursing excellence across East, Central, and Southern Africa right here from Kigutu

Last week, a delegation from the Association Burundaise des infirmiers (ABI) alongside representatives from the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing and Midwifery (ESCACONM) paid an official assessment visit to Kigutu Hospital.

The evaluation focused on clinical practices, patient care quality, working conditions, and our facility’s capacity for development. This visit lays the foundation for a long-term strategic partnership aimed at establishing Kigutu Hospital as a leading regional training center for nurses and midwives!

By training healthcare professionals across partner countries, we are working together to elevate the standard of care for our entire subregion.

09/03/2026

Strengthening healthcare begins with strengthening the home.

At Village Health Works, our Twiyugurure (opening up) series serves as a cornerstone for local family education and psychosocial support. The workshops focus on essential community pillars:
• Communication & conflict resolution
• Co-parenting & self-esteem building
• Addressing teen pregnancy & domestic abuse prevention

Last month, our founder Dr. Deogratias Niyizonkiza met with the program’s leaders to reflect on the deep transformation happening on the ground. Thousands of community members have graduated from the program since it began and hundreds of them work as trainers now. The impact of Twiyugure on family wellness, social cohesion, reduction of domestic violence and child abuse has been extraordinary.

09/03/2026

Campus is alive once again!
This week, we officially welcomed our incoming first-year students to Kigutu International Academy! From nervous smiles and exciting introductions to meeting their new peers for the first time, Day 1 marked the start of a life-changing journey.

To our new Cohort: Welcome to your new home, your new community, and the start of an incredible adventure. We can’t wait to see the leaders, thinkers, and change makers you will become!

Swipe through to see some of our favorite moments from arrival day!

08/26/2026

Clarity is the first step to care.

An EEG provides our pediatric team with the precise information needed to diagnose and treat childhood epilepsy, giving more children the chance to receive timely, life-changing care.

We're already 60% of the way to our $60,000 goal! Even better, the next $5,000 in donations will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling your impact.

Donate today: https://www.pledge.to/village-health-works-bringing-eeg-diagnostics-to-kigutu-hospital

Together, we can bring advanced EEG diagnostics to Kigutu Hospital.

08/17/2026

Before the campus went quiet for the holidays, our students spent their final days learning, exploring, serving, and creating lasting memories through KIA's Summer Learning Program.

08/07/2026

08/07/2026