Hi! This is Umurundi (meaning Burundi person in Burundi language) Jun-kwon Park.
It has been a long time since I last brought in some news. How have you been? Since my return to Korea last June, I went back to Burundi to start the scholarship program we have been working on for a long time. I took on some work from Rwanda Branch, which added to my work load. These days, I am going back and forth between Burundi and Rwanda to monitor current projects and coordinate future projects.
HUMAN IN LOVE Brundi Starts Scholarship Program
HUMAN IN LOVE Burundi Branch decided to carry out a scholarship program in 4 zones (Bubanza, Muramba, Mitakataka, Buvyuko) in the Bubanza Province based on the preliminary community study we have conducted since the beginning of this year.
In the process of preparing for the project, we had several meetings with local authorities such as government officials in charge of education and school principals. There was tension between communities and schools over the scholarship, and at the end of the day, we had to change much of the plans we had made as a Province-level. I cannot share every detail, but I believe even some information would help you better understand Burundi and international development and cooperation.
[ After a meeting with regional and zone officials in charge of education ]
Meeting where a Fierce Debate Took Place over the Scholarship
The meetings for scholarship project were carried out in 3 stages.
The first meeting was with Bubanza Province government officials in charge of education, the second meeting was with the same officials as well as the officials responsible for 4 zones within the Bubanza Province, and the last meeting was with all previous participants and the principals of 14 middle and high schools in the province.
[ Mr. Jun-Kwon PARK from HUMAN IN LOVE Burundi Branch in the meeting ]
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Education officials and principals in the meeting
At the first meeting with province officials, we decided to select 20 scholarship recipients per zone, but many people argued that it was unfair to select the same number of students when the numbers of schools in each zone differ. Many also pointed out that the number of scholarship recipients was too low. So I suggested running the program in two zones first and expanding the program to two other zones next year so we can support more students. Then one official resisted, saying that no zone would agree to be in the latter group, and a principal agreed with the official saying that it would be very unpleasant to have his school in the latter group as well. When someone suggested determining the number of scholarship recipients in proportion to the total number of students, people insisted that it would be better for all schools to be assigned the same number of recipients. The discussion was fierce as everyone felt that the scholarship was more desperately needed for their schools, their students, and their regions. In the end, after 3 meetings and consultations with the headquarters, we agreed on selecting 7 students per school. As a result, a total of 98 students from 14 schools will receive financial support from September until graduation.
Communication is Important Even if it May be Slow
Such situation occurs from time to time at business meetings. So it was not unexpected, but I was still very nervous since it could easily spark conflict between regions and foster discord if not dealt with caution. I thought scholarship programs were less likely to cause conflict compared to for-profit projects or development project, but I was wrong. I realized once again, that when the resources are limited and only a few selected regions or people can receive support, it is very important to take enough time, even if it may be very slow, so that the different regions may come to an agreement and understanding, or else we could find ourselves in the center of the storm.
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With the education officials and principals after the meeting
