Village Healthworks (www.villagehealthworks.org) built a clinic in Burundi under the leadership of founder Deogratias. Deo escaped the civil war there, arrived in New York penniless, and eventually graduated from Columbia University. He then studied at Harvard’s School of Public Health, and worked for few years with Dr. Paul Farmer at Partners in Health. Deo’s story was eloquently told by Tracy Kidder in “Strength in What Remains.” The clinic opened in 2007, and serves a large area where the people had no previous access to health care.

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world and has health statistics that reflect this profound impoverishment. The relationship between socio-economic status and health is obvious to members of poor communities around the globe who, in their daily lives, are acutely aware of the link between ill health and lack of food, shelter and clean water. Yet, few organizations that provide health care in poor communities also tackle the root causes of poor health. Through community empowerment and partnerships, VHW seeks simultaneously to address the social determinants of ill health and to provide compassionate, culturally sensitive and excellent health care to patients in a safe and dignified environment.

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