Village Health Works

Village Health Works (VHW) is a 501(c) (3) corporation. It is a social justice organization founded on the belief that health equity is not a commodity but a right. Founded in partnership with our communities, VHW's mission is to provide the neediest with high-quality, compassionate health care and education based on critical thinking in a dignified environment. VHW's holistic approach integrates clinical services with education, food security, economic development, environmental protection, music, and the arts. In the context of where we currently work, this is the only way we can sustainably end the extreme, multigenerational scarcity in a way that uplifts and engages communities with dignity and in their context. We believe the lack of access to quality healthcare and education is the biggest threat to development and world peace.

VHW established Kigutu International Academy (KIA), a grade 9-12 boarding school, to equip young minds with an education based on critical thinking and prepare them to become the leaders we wish their country and the continent to have for a better future. KIA is a secondary boarding school created to educate a new generation of Burundi's ethical and entrepreneurial young leaders.

The students are at the core of their transformative education at KIA. The school recruits, identifies, and selects the most promising students throughout Burundi. Those ed have demonstrated academic success, leadership, and commitment to improving their schools and communities. KIA brings together this cohort of students from diverse backgrounds for a powerful educational and leadership journey over four years. Competencies and skills such as critical thinking and character development are intentionally folded into a sustained high level of academic achievement. KIA helps these young students reinvent what is possible in a progressive and intentional sequence throughout their four years of secondary school and their careers.

One of KIA's missions is to serve as a model school to help reinforce and enrich the Burundian educational system. It also prepares the KIA graduates for success in universities within the East African community, within Africa, and internationally.

Our core values are as follows:

●      Every member of VHW's team must value the dignity inherent in each individual, aspire to excellence in all we do, and proceed with boldness and perseverance.

●      Compassion and justice must be at the heart of our organization.

●      To accomplish our organization's mission, we must all be accountable to each other and our community.

At KIA, all staff members will work to ensure that the learners (students) are provided with a safe learning environment that enables them to flourish academically, physically, and emotionally.