Home“A striking number of people with disabilities”

“A striking number of people with disabilities”

Peter Danku describes his first working visit to Burundi

Peter Danku, programme coordinator for We are Able! with Leprazending, travelled to Burundi to coordinate the first activities of Leprazening as part of the We are Able! programme.
He looks back. “We work together with one of Leprazending’s local partners. I met with them to discuss concrete steps to start our programme. We communicated in French. It is important to remember that Burundi is one of the poorest countries in Africa. The signs of the heavy fighting during an attempted coup d’état five years ago are still very visible,” he says.

Bad circumstances

“The social, economic situation is challenging and then, on top of that, you have the pandemic. Support is  needed. That is why we are training our trainers, so that they will be fully prepared.”

Approachable people

“Thankfully, the people here are approachable – kind and friendly. Every morning before I started work, I went running. I was quite a sight, a white man running in the early morning. It provided nice introductions and good conversations.”

Optimistic

“The number of disabled people is striking. It is good that we can get to work here. Admittedly, the circumstances are making it harder to get off the ground. But we are able to make a good start, together with the umbrella organisations that are committed to helping people with disabilities. Yes, we are optimistic!”