Burundian activist Bisibo Amani, engaged in civil society endeavors, has been honored with the International Kindness Award for her impactful initiatives aiding the hearing impaired within her nation.
At an event hosted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Turkish Religious Foundation (TDV), Amani, the recipient of the award, shared insights with an AA correspondent regarding her civic engagements in Burundi.
Amani recounted her altruistic journey, sparked by an encounter with Madina, a hearing-impaired student, during her school years. This encounter served as the catalyst for her dedication to assisting others.
Questioning why Madina, a Muslim, was enrolled in a class named the “Deaf Church,” Amani realized the absence of services catering to the hearing-impaired within mosques across her country. She noted, “Through Madina, I connected with numerous hearing-impaired individuals, recognizing the manifold challenges they encounter, particularly in accessing education.”
Reflecting on her association’s initiatives, Amani shared:
“Upon completing high school, I established our association as a priority. Through it, I initiated conversations with diverse stakeholders, advocating for support, particularly within the Muslim community. Our inaugural project focused on providing literacy education to deaf children, evolving from a modest center to a fully-fledged school, initially serving 25 children and now reaching 75.”
Aged 20, Amani acknowledged encountering hurdles due to her youth while presenting projects and faced challenges in articulating her visionary ideas in uncharted territories within her country.
Expressing pride in her varied initiatives, Amani highlighted the IQRA Education Center as the flagship project, employing 32 individuals. She also underscored projects such as water well initiatives, sacrificial endeavors benefitting 1500 animals, and projects providing employment to 150 individuals.
Amani detailed the Solidarity Project, wherein homes were allocated to families displaced by rising water levels, offering solace to 13 out of 50 affected households.
In the Children of the Country Project, Amani emphasized the provision of shelter and education to street children through a boarding school, catering to 40 youngsters. Additionally, she cited the IQRA project’s assistance to 75 orphaned children.
Amani revealed that the IQRA-established school achieved remarkable success, ranking among the top 10 out of 120 schools nationally in academic examinations.
Looking ahead, Amani outlined plans for a comprehensive center featuring a library, a madrasa, and a mosque, poised to benefit 400 children. She disclosed the availability of land in Bujumbura for the center’s construction, underscoring the need for support in this endeavor.