Inspiring a New Generation in Burundi with Dieudonné Nahimana | Ep 7

Season 2
Written By Pam Cheney

Our exploration of global fundraising continues today with Dieudonné Nahimana. Now this one is extra special for me. Dieudonné is one of the most impressive and resilient humans I have ever met and I really don't say that lightly. 

Like hundreds of thousands of other Burundians, the direction of Dieudonné's life was drastically altered during the civil war in 1993, when his father was murdered, and he ended up living on the streets of the capital, Bujumbura. 

Living with and supporting that community of resilient and creative children who survive together without their families has shaped his vision for the future of the whole country. He has established, New Generation, which is now nearly 25 years old.

  • Dieudonné’s home and his meals and even his wedding day have always been shared with dozens, if not hundreds of street children. 

  • He has trained thousands of young people across Burundi in peace building and reconciliation. 

  • He's led by example. He forgave the man who murdered his father, and is now sponsoring the education of his children. 

  • He has won awards for his work. 

  • He ran for president of Burundi in 2020. Not for himself, but to show others what is possible. He lost that contest, but the nature and grace of his defeat and the public calls for reconciliation, he gave Burundi its first peaceful election for 60 years. 

Yet, New Generation still struggles to secure the funding they need to pay their staff, many of whom are former street children, to support entrepreneurship of these creative young people and feed hundreds of other children who rely on New Generation to survive on the streets of Burundi.

I think this conversation stands on its own. 

I know you’ll be inspired by Dieudonné’s story. He has been so open and honest about the challenges he has faced of which fundraising seems to be relatively small, but is vital for the future of New Generation in Burundi. 

I will be sharing some reflections on Dieudonné and his fundraising challenges soon on the Fundraising Radicals blog which can be accessed via the website at www.fundraisingradicals.com/blog

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

I hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode of the Fundraising Radicals podcast and that this conversation has challenged, informed, and maybe even inspired you and your fundraising leadership practice. 

This podcast has been made possible by the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network, Care International, the Ashmore Foundation, and our growing community of strategic partners.

We're excited to explore and share alternative views and experiences so we can all move beyond the narrow experiences that dominate global fundraising practise today so that we're all better equipped to resource our causes and communities wherever in the world we are.

Please do subscribe to the podcast on the platform of your choice. 

New episodes drop on the 1st & 15th of every month, so make sure to tune in to get more global perspectives on fundraising and leadership in the non-profit sector.

More about Fundraising Radicals:

If you want to find out all the ways in which we’re working to empower, equip and engage fundraisers all over the world:


And we're always looking for new perspectives. So if you would be willing to share some of your experience of global fundraising within a future episode of the podcast, please do email us. It's [email protected]

Pam Cheney

Graphic Designer and traveller

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Community, Trust, and Fundraising in Ghana with Nachula Wilson | Ep 8
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The Future of African Diaspora Funding with Jermaine Craig | Ep 6