Autism exists in Burundi. Care and therapy, almost doesn’t.

Endre is helping to build the country’s first autism-focused school and sensory development center in Bujumbura — starting from an abandoned building, and turning it into a space where children can finally feel safe, understood, and supported.

This project is already in motion.

L’autisme existe au Burundi. La prise en charge, presque pas.

Nous construisons à Bujumbura le tout premier centre scolaire et de développement sensoriel dédié aux enfants autistes — en transformant un bâtiment abandonné en un espace où ils peuvent enfin se sentir en sécurité, compris et soutenus.

Le projet est déjà en cours. La suite dépend de ceux qui choisissent de s’engager.

Az autizmus létezik Burundiban. Az ellátás gyakorlatilag nem.

Bujumburában az első autizmus-specifikus iskola és szenzoros fejlesztő központ létrehozásán dolgozik Endre önkéntesként — egy elhagyatott épületből olyan helyet teremtve, ahol a gyerekek végre biztonságban, megértve és támogatva lehetnek.

A projekt már elindult.

Details:

Across Burundi, autistic children are growing up without diagnosis, without support, and without spaces designed for how their nervous systems actually work.

Families are left to figure things out on their own. Not because they don’t care but because the system simply isn’t there yet.

That is now starting to change. At the same time, Endre — a senior corporate leader — is stepping away from his role for nearly two months to travel to Burundi and take part in the renovation work on the ground.

In Bujumbura, a long-abandoned building has already been secured, Madame Aurelie Gahimbare started this project. Endre volunteered to travel there and support her in this great initiative.

This will become the country’s first dedicated school and development center for autistic children.

A place where children are not forced to adapt to the system but where the environment finally adapts to them.

Right now, it is still an empty structure. No equipment. No safe sensory spaces.

No functional learning environment yet. This is where your support makes a real, measurable difference. Through the Hungarian Blue Forest Foundation and the local Center in Burundi Talitha Koum, we are building a fully equipped sensory room; a space that can:

• reduce overwhelm
• support regulation
• make learning and connection possible

For many children, this will be the first time they experience an environment that truly works for them. This project is already in motion.

WHAT YOUR SUPPORT MAKES POSSIBLE

Your contribution directly helps to:

• transform a bare building into a safe, usable space
• buying materials like wood, nails and tools to use during renovation
• create the first sensory room of its kind in the country
• provide essential tools and equipment for children and professionals
• bring practical, neuro-informed knowledge where it does not yet exist

Even a single contribution moves this forward.

WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

This is happening now. The building is there. The work has started. The first centre is within reach. What happens next depends on whether we can complete it.

BE PART OF THE BEGINNING

This is more than a donation.

You are helping to build something that does not yet exist and will change what becomes possible for autistic children in an entire country. As one of the early supporters, you are part of the foundation of this work. Because for these children, this is not just a new centre. It is the first real chance to be understood.