Janviere Tells Her Story

Written by
FH staff writer
Published on
January 23, 2025 at 2:34:13 PM PST January 23, 2025 at 2:34:13 PM PSTrd, January 23, 2025 at 2:34:13 PM PST

Janviere and her children!


One thing that FH is proud of is the active relationship we have with the communities and people we work with! Meet Janviere from Mugoyi, Burundi. Rather than tell you, we’ll let her speak on how FH Burundi helped transform her community. 


Q: Tell us a little about your family and what life was like before getting involved with FH Burundi.


“My name is Janviere and I am married to Gabriel. We have five children and live in Mugoyi. Before joining FH programs, we were isolated from other community members. We didn’t have a good latrine or know that it was necessary to wash hands after using the toilet. We practiced traditional farming that was unproductive. We ate food without vegetables and were always sick, especially our children. I couldn’t go a whole week without taking a child to the health centre because of diarrhea, malaria, worms, etc.


“We were stuck in poverty and desperate. Our children were not succeeding at school. We, parents, were living an uncertain life. I felt hopeless.” 


Janviere's children now eat a balanced diet!


Q: What are some of the FH activities that you found helpful?


“I joined a cascade group and learned practices to improve health. Then I became the group leader and now I train 12 others on health and nutrition. My husband and I belong to a savings group and get loans for our small business making and selling banana juice. [From this], we get money to pay for our children’s schooling and farming expenses. My husband is a model farmer who teaches other farmers. By using farming techniques taught by FH our crop production increased.


“We get [clean] water from a water source that was rehabilitated by FH—it’s only three minutes away! We got a new latrine. [Now], we are healthy! Many diseases like diarrhea, typhoid, malaria, and worms are now rarely seen."


“We don’t get much stress and we have a hope to survive. We have good relationships with community members because my husband and I are serving them as they chose us as their leaders. We’ve increased our trust in God. All these changes make me feel very well and hopeful!”


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