BURUNDI: Jacqueline Kabagirwa, “How can I tell my children there is nothing to eat for a day or two?”
Photo: Judith Basutama/IRIN
Jacqueline Kabagirwa commutes to neighbouring Rwanda, where a day’s work in a field earns her just enough to feed her family
KIRUNDO, 23 February 2010 (IRIN) – Jacqueline Kabagirwa, 35, lives in the northern Burundi commune of Busoni but because of failed harvests following a drought, she commutes to neighbouring Rwanda, where a day’s work in the fields earns her just enough to feed her family. She tells IRIN of her experience:
“My husband often goes to Rwanda and stays there a week or more but his pay is not enough to sustain the whole family. As I have nothing here, I cannot wait for his return. One of my children is lucky because he gets food at school but how can I tell the others there is nothing to eat for a day or two?
“I leave early in the morning and go to Rwanda to work in the fields. But sometimes I am so tired I cannot wake up early enough. In Rwanda, we go from one household to another asking if they need a hand. If you are lucky, you get work immediately but some have to cover long distances; some even come back without a job. Sometimes, I go with my older child, who is 12.
“With so many Burundians seeking jobs in the fields, the pay has been reduced. We used to get about [US$1.50] but now we only get a third of that. I was lucky this time, because, in addition to my pay, my employer has let me take sorghum from her fields.
“Now that the rains are back I will go once a week, that way I can work in my own field. It is now time for planting sorghum and beans, but we have no seeds.”
Related story: Drought leaves thousands needing food aid
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Source: IRIN • humanitarian news and analysis from Africa
