VGR - Burundi

Burundi

Contact Information

Office Contact:

Brother Aristide Havyarimana

Office Address:

Avenue Bweru Numero 17,
Commune Mukaza,
Bujumbura, BP: 6922,
BURUNDI

Contact:+257 79 62 25 02

Country Demographics

Capital:
Gitega, located in the center of the country, East of Bujumbura which is the largest city in the country.

Population:
14 151 540

Languages:

The official languages are Kirundi and French.

English was added in 2014 but is not spoken a lot in Burundi. Swahili is also used as a trade language, particularly in urban areas like Bujumbura.

Religion:
Catholic 58.6 %, protestant 35.3 %, Muslim 3.4%, other 2.3%.

GDP per-capita:
Between $154 and $220

Of interest:

Burundi is one of Africa's smallest nations and considered to be amongst the poorest countries in the world. It is a country of natural beauty and cultural richness despite its tumultuous history. On the western side of the country is the lake Tanganyika, which is among the world's deepest freshwater lakes providing fishing and tourism for the country because of the many diverse aquatic animal species.

In 2019, the capital of the country was moved from Bujumbura to Gitega, which is located in the center of the country.

The country's rolling highland landscapes features tea and coffee plantations, the Rusizi National Park and Kibira National Park offer glimpses of chimpanzees and other wildlife.

Location:

Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Office Staff

Brother Aristide Havyarimana

Office Manager

Manager History:

Brother Aristide believed the Message in 1994. In 1996, he left Burundi and became a war refugee in Tanzania due to the civil war that raged in Burundi for 10 years (1993-2003). Being in the refugee camps in Tanzania, he was receiving books, tapes and other materials from VGR which helped him a lot to bring the Message of the hour to the thirsty souls of desperate refugees.

It’s during that period that he began to realize the barriers and challenges they were encountering in spreading the Message to his people. In fact, the books, tapes, journals, etc. that they were receiving were in English or French or Kiswahili. Unfortunately only about 10% of Burundians can speak or understand those languages.

He then began to feel a great burden on how Burundian and other Kirundi speakers communities in the region could have access to the Bread of Life in their own language.

When he was repatriated in 2006, he started a course at the University of Burundi in the faculty of English Language and Literature with a main purpose of perfecting his English that he had already improved while being in Tanzania; so that he could one day fulfil his dream of translating the Message of Brother Branham into Kirundi.

When he graduated, he joined the former VGR translators’ team; and they started translating in 2010. Since this was the beginning of the work, they first translated the tracts.

Through the years, Brother Aristide continued perfecting his English by being a teacher of English, French and Swahili languages, for the huge task the Lord had in store for him.

It is in 2017 that the Lord blessed Brother Aristide with a wonderful Message believing wife, and they now have 3 children.

Today, Brother Aristide is not only the VGR office manager, but he is also Brother Branham's voice on the Kirundi sermons.