Monday 8 November 2010

Eric in the first meeting of state on Convention on Cluster Munitions,Vientiane,Laos ,november 6-13

It is very impressing to talk about my participation in that meeting which is collect all stakeholders in landmine and cluster munition in Laos from 6th to 13rd november.

As chairman of the training center for development (CEDAC) ,I have been invited and supported by Mine Action Canada to participate in the Youth Leaders Forum which is is organized in parallel with the meeting of States Parties to the Convention.
The objective is to give young people campagners from differents contries of the world an extensive knowledge in the fight against cluster munitios and how to advocate for the implementation of the convention on cluster munitions

As Victim Assistance,today on monday,8th november,I was invited by ICBL in the meeting of Victim assistance focal points,survivors of cluster munitions and landmine and other stakeholders in the Cluster Munitions.
The intention of the meeting was to share information on Convention and see together what we can do in the pronotion of the implemetantion of the convention and specificaly the implementation of victim assistance in the different countries affected by cluster munitions bombs and landmines.

On friday ,12th november,CEDAC,my organisation,in collaboration with Action on Armed Violence (AOAV UK) and Seguridad Humana en Latinoamerica y el Caribe (SEHLAC),are organising an event with the theme : WHAT¹S NEXT IN HUMANITARIAN DISARMAMENT
Opportunities for civil society engagement.
We want all civilian societies present in the conference,to be informed about where we are with the rogram and what can be done in the future.
I remain convinced that this meeting will have a positive impact on countries which require assistance to victims and the fight against armed violence.

Eric from Laos Vientiane

Wednesday 29 September 2010

My Trip to New York

From September 17 to 24, 2010, I undertook a mission to New York to attend several civil society events organized on the margins of the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the UN general Assembly taken in New York from 20 to 22 September 2010. I was invited and supported by Action On Armed Violence "AOAV», a UK organisation working in partnership in fight against armed violence and victim assistance.

It is not easy to describe in a few words how I found New York City but that town with the headquarters of the United Nations was interested me from the economically and socially point.
With large buildings in floor, I admired the order that reigns in the road despite a large number of vehicles that circulate New York.
Despite their different colours, languages, culture and religion, the mutual respect that characterizes people who live in New York left me feeling a good example that everyone else might follow for peaceful coexistence and a real global change.

Then, the activities began with a series of meetings organized by international organizations in which my organization CEDAC supported a pact on peace and security prepared by AOAV" Global Call to Action Again Poverty "CGAP" and "The World We Want 2015.
My statement was based mainly on the integration aspect of armed struggle against violence in the final document of the MDGs.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010, by Carla De Ycaza, teacher at New York University, I had the opportunity to respond to the invitation of the university students who wanted to know a lot about my work in Burundi through CEDAC which I am a legal representative.
They have appreciated the work done by the PMRC in its effort to contribute to the fight against armed violence and promoting development.
I want to thank any one for the time he spent for meeting with me and AOAV which funded my mission in New York.


Eric Niragira

Thursday 15 July 2010

To reinforce the communicative competence of Burundi Civil Society Organisations leaders is a necessity

On 12th July, 2010, the Forum for the Reinforcement of the Civil Society in collaboration of ARCANE organized a workshop of sensitizing leaders of Burundi Civil Society Organizations under the theme ‘The dynamic of communication and the use of the Burundi Civil Society website.’

This workshop held at Novotel Hotel came as an opportunity given to Burundi civil society organizations leaders in order to the role of effective communication in terms of meeting the missions and the goals of the organizations they lead.
CEDAC, one of the civil society organizations whose mission is to train ex- combatants for the social and development integration took part in that workshop.

Inviting CEDAC in such workshop is a sign that shows the degree of contribution that it gives to the building of a peaceful civil society in by giving hope and healing to people who experienced war wounds and atrocities

An other focus point of the workshop was to invite the leaders of civil society organizations to update the website by publishing what they realize, what is also to advertise for their organizations.
Let’s remind that the website is www.societecivile-burundi.org

By Niyongabo Jean Baptiste.

Thursday 27 May 2010

My Visit to Geneva

From 11 to 13 May 2010 I made a working visit to Geneva, the capital of the Swiss Confederation. This town which is also a hub of international diplomacy has touched me at first by its geographical situation. It has the same as Bujumbura in Burundi. Indeed ,many of my friends from the Swiss have always said that Burundi and is Switzerland of Africa.
I also admired the UN headquarters and it was for me an opportunity to contemplate where the decisions that engage the world are taken.

I went to Geneva in a summit that was dedicated to the Oslo commitments in the fight against armed violence and its integration into the MDGs .56 states had responded to the invitation and I was representing civil society of Burundi. The summit was fenced on a commitment by States and civil society to support commitments in Oslo.
I am interested in positive step already achieved and that will contribute to the recovery of armed violence worldwide.

Monday 26 April 2010

Women ex-combatants in full operation of development program

Since Wednesday, 21 April 2010 to 23 April, I visited women ex-combatants in the four municipalities of the province of Bujumbura Rural, Kabezi, Isale, Mutimbuzi, and Kanyosha.
The aim was to give an account of the evolution of the peer support program which is being directed by leaders of CEDAC. These facilitators have been trained by Survivor Corps to assist women ex-combatants and ex-combatants in general who have been affected by the trauma of war.
The objective of this program is to heal the trauma caused by war and prepare them for development.
The other purpose of my visit was to provide these women ex-combatants; researchers from Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs came to realize the current state of the DDR in Burundi.
All the women we met greatly appreciate the contribution of CEDAC in the program of reintegration of ex-combatants and are asking CEDAC to continue to advocate for them in the future especially as they have begun to micro-projects which need to be supported

Eric Niragira

Monday 5 April 2010

Training on Peer Support

Training on Peer Support

This Monday, March 5, 2010, CEDAC in collaboration with Survivor Corps has begun a program of training in the approach of peer support to women ex-combatants, leaders of community groups of Communes Kanyosha, Isale, and Mutimbuzi Kabezi.
.
These four municipalities were chosen by the fact that they contain the majority of ex-combatants of the last province that has experienced war, Bujumbura Rural

This approach innovated by Survivor Corps is to help survivors overcome the barriers related to traumatic experiences they have experienced because of the war.


The introductory word has been uttered by Mr Pierre Claver Nsengiyumva, Country Director of Survivor Corps in Burundi, who expressed the objective of training and expectations of Survivor Corps after training.

The Chairman of CEDAC, Eric Niragira hope that this training is a beginning of a true reconciliation based on the development especially that we are in a post conflict phase in which efforts of everyone are needed.


This training will last three days begin in a unique atmosphere.

Eric Niragira

Sunday 21 March 2010

The CEDAC started a new concept of reintegration of former combatants around the water programs

With its Belgian partner Global Water Institute "GWI, CEDAC has signed a partnership agreement with this NGO which aims to reintegrate ex-combatants in Burundi around the water programs. This is the result of a field visit of 20 days of GWI’s President; Ms. Valerie Ndaruzaniye has done in Burundi to realize the achievements of CEDAC and share with CEDAC’s members their aspirations on programs related water and prevention of conflicts related to water.

Currently, when we talk about warm weather, members of CEDAC have expressed their strong desire to contribute to the success of this project especially that this project will give them a work. In all municipalities visited, members of CEDAC expressed a warm welcome to the President of GWI event with a march led by the dancing drummers of Burundi.
On the posters, saying "we lust for drinking water for all"

The visit was concluded with a round table made by dignitaries of Burundi and the donors working in Burundi. This meeting was organized by CEDAC and GWI and the goal was to present the initiative to the decision makers to solicit their support.
I would not fail to thank the Belgian NGO for its will expressed in the reintegration of ex-combatants in Burundi while hoping that this example could be followed by other donors wishing to assist Burundi .

Eric Niragira

Thursday 18 March 2010

Eric Niragira,President of CEDAC and the Niarchos Prize 2010

This is an opportunity for me to express my gratitude and thanks to Survivors Corps and his team who has submitted my nomination for Niarchos Prize 2010.
This award represents to me and CEDAC a sign of encouragement to outstanding against people who have dedicated their lives to help and assist vulnerable people and victims of conflits. It also gave me a hope that my work to of assisting ex-combatants and transform them into leaders is appreciated by many personalities, which gives me hope that the future of this program is better.
This award will allow me to strengthen programs to assist survivors of the war in Burundi and I will also strengthen the institutional capacity of CEDAC.
May everyone follow this good example of Survivor Corps to decrease the suffering of survivors of war and participation in conflict prevention.
The road is still long but I believe that together we can prepare a better world for future generations

Eric Niragira

Wednesday 3 February 2010

Do not be discouraged when things do
not go as you had planed, because what
is not possible today, will be possible tomorrow.
But remember, Big vision requires Big Dream,
Big Dream requires Big Action and
Big Action requires Big Commitment.

Thursday 14 January 2010

Field visit to Burundi by the Special Delegate of the Howard Buffet Foundation

Field visit to Burundi by the Special Delegate of the Howard Buffet Foundation

This Thursday, January 13, 2010, in collaboration with the Representative of Survivor Corps in Burundi, Mr Pierre Claver Nsengiyumva, Eric Niragira, Founder President and Chairman of CEDAC, representatives of Care International and the Special representative of the Howard Buffett Foundation, Mr Koffi, visited women ex-combatants, member of CEDAC in province of Bujumbura Rural, to analyze the step already taken in DUSHIGIKIRANE project funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation.

The objective of visit was also to notice progress and lessons already learned by women ex-combatants as part of this project.

This project aimed at social and economic reintegration of female ex-combatants focused on three approaches, the first is to strengthen the female ex-combatant groups in the system of micro credit. This approach is realized by Care International.
Then the second approach consists to strengthen the women ex-combatants capacity on the rice plantation where new quality more productive were developed and given to female ex-combatants for planting.
IRRI dealing with that approach, gives women ex-combatants all necessary equipment from sowing to harvest.

The third approach is to train women ex-combatants on education approach to peer support, which is to assist survivors, touched by the trauma of war and to help them go beyond past and become normal people.

All partners who were there enjoyed the project development and the meeting ended with a remarkable appreciation from the Special delegate of the Howard Buffett Foundation

Eric Niragira

Founder president of CEDAC

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Who is Claver Nsengiyumva ,Burundi


In Burundi, it is really difficult to talk about a very clear personal biography for different reasons. One of them is due to the Burundian culture itself which makes Burundian, people with reserved behaviour.
Hellas, this last year was for me an opportunity to discover a remarkable person and who have been for me an opportunity to improve my vision for Burundi and worldwide in general. I could just say here that nothing is happened by hazard. There are many things happened to us and we let them pass without seizing an opportunity to think about the signification. Some times it is a good event and for other circumstances a bad event. So, after an entire year I noticed that is wasn’t a simple meeting with this person that I am going to describe here.

This man who marked me is Claver Nsengiyumva, country director of Survivor Corps, an American NGO which helps survivors of trauma to give back and build themselves their life and become leader .Someone who speaks kindly, calmly, simply and with a remarkable analysis when giving his opinion. I met him in August 2008 when I responded a call from the General Directory of Ex-combatants in Burundi who asked me to in contact with Survivor Corps and talk about its program of assisting survivors in Burundi. During that period I represented a training centre for development of ex-combatants “CEDAC” which helps ex-combatants to rebuild Burundi by their contribution.
I decided then to meet him in the office of CEDAC. Concerning the international NGO, I was waiting a foreign person but what I saw was contrary
Claver came with Ms Patricia Ntahorubuze ,ex project manager in the « Association des femmes juristes du Burundi » .My first look didn’t permit me to discover Mr Claver because he was very simple and when we started with presentation each other ,I found finally who is the country director of Survivor Corps .

Being former combatant I didn’t think that I could meet another person with different ethnic of mine and who can share the same vision as me for the future of Burundi. His outspoken and commitment has finally shown that there some Burundian people who go beyond their ethnic appurtenance and demonstrate a good vision for Burundi. His NGO has finally made an agreement with CEDAC about implementing their project in Burundi with the collaboration of CEDAC.
Sometimes he told me: « Eric, the only mission that we have is to make a change to the world and this is our mission from God and we must do it on ealth »


His belief that what is happened to every person is the result of what he declares touched me .He said “it is why we must always declare good things”.
I should mention that this is not at all easy to spend four years at the control of an organization without adequate financial resources. Sometimes to accomplish certain tasks, I had to use my personal resources which were not sufficient and borrow sometimes when necessary.

My encounter with him helped me to build and develop appropriate links which allow me to accomplish the mission that I am assigned.

Through him, I had opportunity to meet with the staff of Survivor Corps who came from Washington and his advocacy finally gave me occasion of gaining knowledge that would be useful for me in the future.
In January 2009, I found an opportunity of a training organized in Kigali by Survivor Corps and say here it was my first opportunity to travel by plane. At the airport, he looked at me and said: "You are very comfortable for the short trip to Kigali? In just one year, you will have opportunity to travel around the world»

Three months later, I received another training mission in Uganda on behalf of the East African Action Network on Small Arms and October 2009, another training mission on Human Rights for Women in Nairobi.

In December 2009, should be held an international conference on the fight against mines to be held in Cartagena Colombia. When I met him he told me "Look Eric, I want you to posture in my place to this conference in order to meet people who help you get through your vision. » No sooner said than done.
I completed my form and I picked him as my reference and as usual, my application has been accepted without problem.

I went to this conference which was highly interesting, saw the very important people that I met there

What I found on him during the way of more than a year could be described in a whole novel but this little paper is to report to my readers that there are Burundian who think beyond their country and are really committed to helping for a good future of Burundi. May God grant him strength and courage for 2010
Who is Claver Nsengiyumva ,Burundi


In Burundi, it is really difficult to talk about a very clear personal biography for different reasons. One of them is due to the Burundian culture itself which makes Burundian, people with reserved behaviour.
Hellas, this last year was for me an opportunity to discover a remarkable person and who have been for me an opportunity to improve my vision for Burundi and worldwide in general. I could just say here that nothing is happened by hazard. There are many things happened to us and we let them pass without seizing an opportunity to think about the signification. Some times it is a good event and for other circumstances a bad event. So, after an entire year I noticed that is wasn’t a simple meeting with this person that I am going to describe here.

This man who marked me is Claver Nsengiyumva, country director of Survivor Corps, an American NGO which helps survivors of trauma to give back and build themselves their life and become leader .Someone who speaks kindly, calmly, simply and with a remarkable analysis when giving his opinion. I met him in August 2008 when I responded a call from the General Directory of Ex-combatants in Burundi who asked me to in contact with Survivor Corps and talk about its program of assisting survivors in Burundi. During that period I represented a training centre for development of ex-combatants “CEDAC” which helps ex-combatants to rebuild Burundi by their contribution.
I decided then to meet him in the office of CEDAC. Concerning the international NGO, I was waiting a foreign person but what I saw was contrary
Claver came with Ms Patricia Ntahorubuze ,ex project manager in the « Association des femmes juristes du Burundi » .My first look didn’t permit me to discover Mr Claver because he was very simple and when we started with presentation each other ,I found finally who is the country director of Survivor Corps .

Being former combatant I didn’t think that I could meet another person with different ethnic of mine and who can share the same vision as me for the future of Burundi. His outspoken and commitment has finally shown that there some Burundian people who go beyond their ethnic appurtenance and demonstrate a good vision for Burundi. His NGO has finally made an agreement with CEDAC about implementing their project in Burundi with the collaboration of CEDAC.
Sometimes he told me: « Eric, the only mission that we have is to make a change to the world and this is our mission from God and we must do it on ealth »


His belief that what is happened to every person is the result of what he declares touched me .He said “it is why we must always declare good things”.
I should mention that this is not at all easy to spend four years at the control of an organization without adequate financial resources. Sometimes to accomplish certain tasks, I had to use my personal resources which were not sufficient and borrow sometimes when necessary.

My encounter with him helped me to build and develop appropriate links which allow me to accomplish the mission that I am assigned.

Through him, I had opportunity to meet with the staff of Survivor Corps who came from Washington and his advocacy finally gave me occasion of gaining knowledge that would be useful for me in the future.
In January 2009, I found an opportunity of a training organized in Kigali by Survivor Corps and say here it was my first opportunity to travel by plane. At the airport, he looked at me and said: "You are very comfortable for the short trip to Kigali? In just one year, you will have opportunity to travel around the world»

Three months later, I received another training mission in Uganda on behalf of the East African Action Network on Small Arms and October 2009, another training mission on Human Rights for Women in Nairobi.

In December 2009, should be held an international conference on the fight against mines to be held in Cartagena Colombia. When I met him he told me "Look Eric, I want you to posture in my place to this conference in order to meet people who help you get through your vision. » No sooner said than done.
I completed my form and I picked him as my reference and as usual, my application has been accepted without problem.

I went to this conference which was highly interesting, saw the very important people that I met there

What I found on him during the way of more than a year could be described in a whole novel but this little paper is to report to my readers that there are Burundian who think beyond their country and are really committed to helping for a good future of Burundi. May God grant him strength and courage for 2010