13 July 2007, by Sarah Harting in Kirundo, Burundi-A friend of mine in Bujumbura once took me to the birthday of a French girl who works for APECOS (a Burundian organisation that helps orphans). When I mentionned that I wanted to go to Kirundo to see the problems there they told me that there is a section of APECOS in that area of the country and gave me a phone number of one of the persons working there. The first time I went to Ngozi the people I stayed with took me to Kirundo but I didn't get the chance to contact or meet this person. When I met the French girls later in town, one of them told me that they would be going to Kirundo for a few days and that I could join them, of course I couldn't refuse. They would leave Tueday the 10th and return Friday the 13th. We arranged to meet on Tuesday morning at bakery Kapa where they would pick me up. With a pick-up full with material they came and took me to Kirundo.

It was the third time now for me to go up-country since I arrived and everytime we went to the north-east so I know the way by now. I still can't drive so I'm lucky to have people who take me there. We left around ten, and drove direct to Kirundo which took us about three hours.

The people from APECOS go there every month and had already made a reservation in a hotel. I shared a room with the French girl and the Burundian man took another room. In the restaurant next to the hotel we took our lunch, as usual rice, chips, beans and meat. There was no Fanta so I had to content myself with water while the others shared an Amstel. After lunch work started for both them and me. They dropped me near the hospital where the organisation International Medical Corps (IMC) works.

One of the nurses told me about the organisation and the problems that exist in Kirundo. She told me that IMC is an American organisation and exists since 2000. It is based in the Kirundo province. The headquarter and medical centre is in the city Kirundo and there are 23 centres in the rest of the province. The centres in the province take care of supplementarian nutrition, that is they look after those who are moderately malnutritioned. Severe cases are send to the headquarter.
The centres give help on a weekly base, while the centre in Kirundo works 24 hours a day.

There are two sorts of malnutrition. The first has as effect that especially young children are very skinny, the second group looks blown up.

The centre takes every case, people of every age and sex, but the biggest group is children from zero to five years old.

When people come to the centre from all over the province they go into the first phase. For some days they are kept in a ward and being treated. The organisation works in cooperation with the hospital that does medical exams and gives medical treatment when needed.

The people are skinny or blown up because of a wrong nurishment. This happens mostly when a child is sick and suffers from malaria, pneumonics or diarhea.

Patients stay at least three weeks, depending on the time they need to get better and regain strength. Especially those who are blown up need a lot of time because they have to lose weight first and then regain it.

In harvest time there are few cases but the rest of the year there is a lot of work. At the moment there are 80 cases, but in April there were more than 200. Few of them die, only the cases that asked for help too late. From October to January there are many cases.

The biggest problem is the cilmate. There has been a severe dryness since 1988 in this region.

The patients are treated free of charges and when they leave the get a kit of a hoe, a net and seeds to plant. While in the centre they get information about healthcare. World Food Program gives them food while being treated.

Those who leave are being followed for three more months.

IMC has a staff of 12 Burundians; 3 nurses, 1 nutritian, 4 nutritian assistents and others taking care of the centre and food.\n\n\n\n