We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a DROP in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing DROP.

- Mother Teresa -

 

We are in a major partnership with YFC Burundi, if you would like to sponsor a child or support the orphanage please follow this link to YFC Burundi page for more information.

 

D.R.O.P. stands for Daring to Reach Orphaned People. This has been our global initiative. Edmonton YU/YFC believes that nothing you do is too small for Burundi. A single DROP of effort can cause a RIPPLE of hope. Impacting the lives of many young people.

Our vision at D.R.O.P (Daring To Reach Orphaned People) is to provide but a small drop of help that can create a huge ripple of hope for those in need while empowering young people to make an impact in the world. Our outreach at D.R.O.P is focused on a small, unfamiliar country called Burundi. Burundi is not only a nation of orphans torn by decades of civil war and genocide, but it is a forgotten nation and news fails to reach our eyes and ears within the mainstream western media. This country is the birth place of the famous Rwandan genocide in the 1990’s and has faced more years of civil war and genocide then its neighbouring country. Our hope is not to provide a band-aid solution for its problems, but to work alongside the people and address their needs with them and to help find a sustainable solution.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is but a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop. - Mother Teresa Nothing is too small when it comes to helping sustain life in Burundi, five dollars can literally save a life. Within our self gratifying culture a popular Hollywood film can gross multiple millions of dollars daily; this is not even a sliver of what most of us would spend our money on when it comes to entertainment. We in western culture numb ourselves with materialism and entertainment while in a distant place our brothers and sisters struggle to eat one meal a day or to find $5 to fund a curable, life threatening disease. If you think your time and money won’t made a difference, then you’re wrong.

In January 2008, YFC Edmonton sent a team to visit YFC Burundi. We saw firsthand the poverty and devastation. We saw a country in desperate need of our help, support and friendship. Since that time we have shipped 4 - 40' containers of goods to help sustain a number of different groups.

Can you imagine life without medical care or education?
We hope to inspire local youth, businesses, schools & service clubs to give generously to a very needy cause.
Our Objective is...

To motivate & inspire an I-POD - Facebook - MY- Space generation of Canadian young people. We want them to look beyond their ‘entertain me' saturated world. Where should they look? Into the eyes of poverty. We are hoping to build & assist long term solutions in one of the poorest & fairly unknown countries in East Africa... Burundi. A nation of orphans adopted by one of the wealthiest cities in Canada will help transform lives both here and there.
Emphasizing our wealth and their poverty-we have one of the best medical & education systems, and they have one of the worst.

The Problems in Burundi:

Economy of Burundi
Burundi is one of the poorest countries on the planet, owing in part to its landlocked geography, poor legal system, lack of access to education, and the proliferation of HIV/AIDS. Approximately 80% of Burundi's population lives in poverty. Famines and food shortages have occurred throughout Burundi, most notably in the 20th century, and according to the World Food Program, 56.8% of children under age five suffer from chronic scientific study of 178 nations rated Burundi's population as having the lowest satisfaction with life in the world. As a result of poverty, Burundi is dependent on foreign aid.

Burundi's largest industry is agriculture, which accounted for 58% of the GDP in 1997. Subsistence agriculture accounts for 90% of agriculture. The nation's largest source of revenue is coffee, which makes up 93% of Burundi's exports. Other agriculture products include cotton, tea, maize, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, and hides. Some of Burundi's natural resources include uranium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and platinum. In 2007, floods wiped out nearly 80% of the nations crops. Some statistics say the unemployment rate is as high as 80%.

Health care in Burundi
There is less healthcare in Burundi than in most other countries. Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 48.5 years. (2005) A large proportion of the population is undernourished. There were 3 physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s. The HIV/AIDS prevalence has been about 4.2 % in 2007. Numerous people regularly die from curable disease and lack of access to health care. As a matter of fact all of doctors in Burundi recently went on strike for months due to exhaustion and underfunding. However this left the nation with no medical care other than the overwhelmed nurses.

Could you ever imagine this happening in Canada?

We are currently raising funds & awareness through our new initiative, Loveworks. We will also be preparing for our next Project Serve trip this summer. We will be fundraising for both Loveworks and for the trip. Click here:DROP Brochure to view info about the trip. 

 

If you are interested in overseas options or local fundraising projects of how you can serve contact: bill@yfced.com to find out more.