Grantee Spotlight: Diocese of Rumonge, Burundi

February 7, 2022
An exterior shot of an isolation block added to the Birimba Medical complex.
With support from Trinity, the Diocese of Rumonge adds an isolation block added to the expanded Birimba Amahoro Hospital complex.

The Diocese of Rumonge was established as a new diocese in Burundi in 2013 with minimal financial support structures to sustain and grow its ministry. The diocese runs along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and includes fifty parishes with 202 rural congregations. The Rt. Rev. Pedaçuli Birakengana is the diocese’s first bishop and served as a resource bishop in Trinity’s first round of peer-mentoring workshops in 2013–2014.

The Birimba Medical Clinic, operated by the diocese, opened in 2010 with sixteen beds and offered basic medical treatment, as well as maternity and minor surgery services. At the time, Rumonge province had just one hospital to cover 417 square miles and a population of 353,000.

Surgical staff conduct a procedure in the expanded Birimba Medical Clinic..

Surgical staff conduct a procedure in the expanded Birimba Medical Clinic..

Beginning in 2016, Trinity supported the diocese to expand the clinic facilities to become Birimba Amahoro Hospital. Trinity’s first grant funded a feasibility study on the five-acre property. Renewal awards built and equipped a laboratory, pharmacy, and 44-bed hospital block; and equipped two operating rooms and a birthing room. Trinity provided 76% of the total budget and the diocese contributed the remaining 24% in land value, in-kind donations, and financial contributions.

The diocese owns and operates the hospital with doctors and nurses funded and placed by the government, and receives government subsidies funded by the World Bank on a per-service basis. Profits are being used to fund clergy salaries and supply iron roofing sheets in order to support rural mission stations in remote and extremely poor communities in Burundi.

An exterior shot of an isolation block added to the Birimba Medical complex.

With support from Trinity, the Diocese of Rumonge adds an isolation block added to the expanded Birimba Amahoro Hospital complex.

This project expanded an existing ministry to improve healthcare access in a rural community and helped the diocese to qualify for higher subsidies for their services, thus improving profitability. Moreover, since the expanded hospital facility opened in February 2018, it has served over 10,500 patients, created 41 jobs, and generated $53,000 in annual net profit.