Youth Conference Event

IBWO Youth Conference Event

“The Better Tomorrow Depends on Today’s Foundation.”

IBWO women from the United States and Australia organized a Youth Conference Event in Rock Island Illinois to interact with the Youth and get to know what motivates them to serve their communities.

The following activities were on the agenda:

On Saturday 22^nd of June, 2024, IBWO members from the United States and representatives from Australia met with the youth in Rock Island, Illinois, USA. During this event, the youth from different states in the USA were able to interact and get acclimated with one another. Many games were played as an ice breaker to help the youth get out of their comfort zone, interact between each other, and learn from one another. They played many games including but not limited to Kahoot game which tested their knowledge of Burundi. This game also opened up the floor to the elders to teach/inform the youth of the facts about their beloved country or Burundi. The youth were also given an assignment and opportunity to introduce one another in Kirundi in order to encourage them to speak in their native language, as a wise man once said, “When drinking water, one must not forget its source.”

The event happened in three sessions: The Morning Event, the Afternoon Event, and the Evening Event.

On Saturday morning 22^nd June, 2024, there was an information session that started with everyone giving introductions of themselves. The youth were categorized based on age, goals, etc. IBWO – USA President Victoria IRAMBONA then gave a brief presentation of what IBWO is and what the purpose of the organization was before splitting the youth up into groups for various exercises. The exercises consisted of groups answering a number of questions about what hinders the youth from being close to their cultures, language, customs, and what obstacles they face in life. These groups then presented their answers which led to further discussions. These additional discussions brought further an understanding between different generations. In addition, there were collaborative discussions between the youth and parents regarding many topics such as single-parent household vs two-parents household, religion and the church, long and short term effects on poor decision making, along with many more topics. It was an open forum that allowed everyone to speak freely and debate without repercussions leading to a lot of healthy discussions on topics that would otherwise be considered controversial.

On Saturday afternoon 22nd June, 2024, after the morning session, all the attendees went to the park for a picnic/field day to wind down and interact with one another. There were many games and activities that the youth and IBWO Women enjoyed and were able to participate in. We also had a wonderful volunteer – Isabella – from Rock island, IL who gave lessons to the youth girls on how to dance traditional Burundian dance. In addition, everyone enjoyed a makeshift game of volleyball before the boys and girls split up into their two groups to get teachings from the elders. The boys received teachings from the men volunteers and the girls from IBWO women.

On Saturday evening 22nd June, 2024, a formal dinner was held where speeches were heard from our very own IBWO-USA President Victoria IRAMBONA, USA Vice president Pascasia BUKURU, and the Global Youth President Ninette. We also had the privilege of having our IBWO Director Izera MAZAMBO who came from Australia to join us for this momentous occasional. A fundraiser was also held where the youth along with the parents pledged donations to help the Organization grow so we could have more of these conferences.