Ongoing Projects
Flaming Chalice International currently sponsors five ongoing projects in fulfillment of our mission—with your generous support!
Community Center in Gitega
The Muhira (meaning “home”) Community Center has been in operation in the central, very rural area of Burundi since 2021 and serves the community in many ways. A community TV offers people an opportunity to watch the news, enabling them to stay informed and connected to the wider world. The Center houses a shop that sells items to meet people’s basic needs, such as soap, oil, and pens--items that were previously only available to those who could walk many miles to obtain them. An in-house salon offers haircuts and training for youth who want to learn hairdressing skills.
Most importantly, the Muhira Community Center is a gathering place. Located in the middle of four villages, it provides a venue where people can celebrate weddings and other special events, as well as mourn losses together. Everyone is welcome: the Center successfully brings together people from different ethnic groups who have been in conflict in the past.
FCI funds the staff members who operate the Center and maintenance costs; our goal is to help it become self-sustaining through income-generating activities, such as running a guest house.
Annual cost of operating the Muhira Community Center: $4000
Microloans in Rwanda and Burundi
Goreth Ndaye in her shop
FCI has awarded microloans to Burundian refugees living in Rwanda where they are engaged in projects that will eventually lead to greater financial independence. Refugees have relied on loans to grow food to sell, to operate a food stand, and to sell mobile phone accessories in order to earn some income to meet their own basic needs. There are very limited employment opportunities in Rwanda, and the cost of necessities is very high. Once our award committee provides the loan, we offer ongoing guidance and encouragement to recipients to increase the likelihood of their success.
Average microloan award per person: $350
Skills Training
Since 2021, FCI has been funding skill-building training for at least ten Burundians per year. Six to eighteen months of hands-on learning is enabling young adults living in rural areas to earn an income. (Seventy percent of Burundians earn less than $1 per day.) In some cases, the training is offered through an apprenticeship, allowing participants the opportunity to learn under the guidance of an experienced tradesperson; others are gaining skills through an intensive training program over six to twelve months.
We have supported plumbing apprenticeships, and have trained participants in hairdressing, tailoring, and agronomist techniques. A new cohort of trainees will begin in 2023.
Average cost of training per participant: $1000
Refugee Fund
Refugees living in East Africa require ongoing support to cover the cost of food, rent, and other basic needs, including medical care. FCI currently provides financial assistance on a monthly basis to 27 people, including three families. Most of the refugees are Unitarians from Burundi; others are relatives or somehow connected to members of the Burundi Unitarian Church.
Sharing a meal in Kigali, Rwanda
FCI covers rent for two communal houses in Kigali, Rwanda. These houses serve as a gathering place for refugees and offer respite to students who are not able to remain on campus during holidays. Additionally, we provide subsidies to some refugees who rent their own space, especially those who have families and would find it difficult to live in communal housing. We provide assistance to one family in the Mahama refugee camp to help them purchase food. Additional support has been provided during the pandemic, as refugees have not been able to find odd jobs or develop businesses that they were building before COVID.
This fund has offered a lifeline to these refugees over the past several years. Thanks to many individuals and organizations, Flaming Chalice International keeps their hopes for a better life alive.
Annual cost of refugee assistance: $12,000
Scholarships for Students in Burundi and Refugees in Rwanda
FCI has been able to offer ten to fifteen academic scholarships to Unitarian students in Burundi and Burundian refugees in Rwanda each year. The scholarship program began in 2012 in Burundi, and expanded to refugees in Rwanda in 2016 when political unrest forced them to flee. Most of the scholarships are for university students; we have been able to fill some requests for help with high school and elementary school tuition in Burundi when funds are available. There are always more requests than we can satisfy.
During the 2022-23 academic year, six students in Burundi and two in Rwanda are receiving scholarships to further their education at a university. FCI is supporting fourteen students in elementary and high school in Burundi. These young people were formerly living on the street; they now live in a center where two of the Unitarians are on staff.
Annual cost of the scholarship program: $7000
Belyse Nibigira, education student, hopes to be a role model for 5 siblings