Photo Story: Tanganyika Rising - the Juxtaposition of Destruction and Resilience in Burundi 

Waves break rhythmically onto a golden sand beach, while children, screeching with joy, kick a football down the shoreline. In the distance lies the city of Bujumbura, Burundi, its apartment block windows reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors as the sun dips behind the neighbouring Congo mountains.  

IOM Burundi 2022/ Armel Nkunzimana

Though peaceful, these scenes of everyday life along Lake Tanganyika’s shores are threatened by the looming rainy season. In what has become a devastating trend in Burundi over the last few years, the months of April and May have grown synonymous with the fear of displacement. 

“In the past, the lake would always rise with the rains, but it never used to be this bad. This is the first time in my life that I have been displaced,” 67-year-old Rose told the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from the doorway of the tent she now inhabits. 

67-year-old Rose was displaced by flooding for the first time in her life in 2020, and now lives in an emergency shelter provided by IOM. IOM Burundi 2022/ Amaury Falt-Brown

In 2021 alone, over 52,000 people were affected by the floods in Burundi, as rising waters consumed entire neighborhoods. Gatumba, where Rose lives, was the worst affected and lies just outside of Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital.  

Historically, Lake Tanganyika has been a source of wealth to those who live along its palm-lined shores. Communities throughout the region rely on its riches for fishing, agriculture and transport, but torrential rains, exacerbated by climate change, are causing the water levels to rise at an alarming rate. 

Men paddle past a school that has been completely submerged by the rising lake water, in Gatumba. IOM Burundi 2021/ Triffin Ntore
Children gather outside of their classroom while a man in protective gear walks towards the school. IOM Burundi 2021/ Triffin Ntore
A popular restaurant in Bujumbura lies destroyed after the lake’s water levels rose to extreme heights. IOM Burundi 2021/ Armel Nkunzimana

As is often the case with natural disasters, vulnerable communities have been the first to bear the brunt of nature’s upheaval.  

“During the last floods [in May 2021] my shop and my home were destroyed by the water,” recalls Divine, a single mother of six children. When her roadside kiosk – and soul source of income – was swept away by the water, she recalls: “we had nowhere else to go, so we moved into the displacement site.” Nevertheless, Divine has managed to open a new kiosk. 

Divine shares a laugh with her daughters after her disabled son, Emmanuel, receives a donated wheelchair from IOM’s Protection team. IOM Burundi 2021/ Amaury Falt-Brown

Operated by the Government of Burundi (GoB), in coordination with IOM and other humanitarian actors, displacement sites provide internally displaced persons (IDPs) with much-needed shelter and protection.  

Over the course of the past year alone, IOM has built emergency shelters for thousands of IDPs who have been affected by flooding.  

An aerial view of the Kinyinya II displacement site, whose emergency shelters house hundreds of displaced families. IOM Burundi 2022/ Amaury Falt-Brown

IDPs like Wilson have been helping in the efforts to build shelters for fellow site residents, as part of a Cash for Work initiative organized by IOM.  

Wilson, an IDP living in a displacement site, receives cash from IOM in exchange for building new shelters for other IDPs. IOM Burundi 2022/ Amaury Falt-Brown

With an eye to the future, however, the Organization is also working with government partners to identify relocation sites where it is possible to construct semi-permanent shelters that offer increased stability and dignity to IDPs. 

An IDP who is working as part of the Cash for Work initiative builds a semi-permanent shelter in Buhomba. IOM Burundi 2021/ Amaury Falt-Brown
A construction worker walks past a nearly completed semi-permanent shelter in Buhomba. These shelters are larger than emergency shelters and have separate rooms inside, as opposed to emergency shelters. IOM Burundi 2021/ Amaury Falt-Brown

Latrines and showers have also been built or rehabilitated en masse, to limit the spread of diseases and ensure that people are able to attend to their basic hygiene needs. Additionally, IOM distributes hygiene kits within the sites and hosts hygiene awareness-raising sessions.  

A man works to build a latrine at the Kinyinya II displacement site. IOM Burundi 2022/ Triffin Ntore
A block of latrines in the Kinyinya II displacement site. IOM Burundi 2022/ Triffin Ntore
An IOM staff member places a water purification tablet in a plastic container to demonstrate how to use a hygiene kit. IOM Burundi 2022/ Triffin Ntore
A woman at a displacement site holds a card explaining how to wash your hands during a hygiene awareness raising session. IOM Burundi 2022/ Triffin Ntore

Yet, the ripple effects of this climate-induced disaster extend far beyond shelter and hygiene. Displacement and the vulnerability that follows it can lead to a marked increase in gender-based violence (GBV), human-trafficking and psychological distress, among other issues.  

IOM’s Protection team works alongside displaced communities to combat these side effects of disaster.  

Divine takes part in a psychosocial support session with an IOM psychologist as she learns to manage distress linked to the floods. IOM Burundi 2021/ Amaury Falt-Brown
Victims of human trafficking wait together to receive material support from IOM staff. IOM Burundi 2021/ Armel Nkuzimana

Despite the loss of livelihoods and the distress of losing homes and businesses, a common theme that has emerged throughout IOM’s flood response has been the resilience of communities that have stood together to support one another.  

Displaced women at a displacement site perform a traditional dance during a celebration, demonstrating the strength and resilience of the community, despite the circumstances. IOM Burundi 2021/ Triffin Ntore

Conscious of the need to offer durable solutions and hope to vulnerable communities, IOM, the GoB and partners are working together to mitigate future disaster risks.  

Currently, IOM is leading Burundi’s most comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) programme ever – a project that aims to strengthen the resilience of the Burundian population against disasters. It is believed that the outcome of the programme will be a widespread reduction in displacement. 

For more information, contact Amaury Falt-Brown, Media and Communications Consultant at IOM Burundi, Email: afalt@iom.int, Tel: +257 68 33 70 33

SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 13 - Climate Action