The document summarizes the findings of a study on the social and economic status of over 3,000 former child soldiers in Burundi who received support services from the Burundi Child Soldier Demobilization, Social Reintegration and Recruitment Prevention Special Project. The study found that: 1) The social reintegration of former child soldiers seems to be progressing well, as most have been accepted back into their families and communities and have similar levels of social well-being as other children. 2) Economically, former child soldiers have higher rates of income generation than civilian children and the reintegration project helped increase families' asset ownership, though economic opportunities remain limited overall by Burundi's poverty.

1. No.1
The Burundi Child Soldier
Demobilization, Social
Reintegration and Recruitment
Prevention Special Project was
launched in 2004 – as part of an
action plan for child protection
agreed between the Government
of Burundi and UNICEF. UNICEF
implemented the project in
collaboration with both the
National Structure for Child
Soldiers (SNES), which UNICEF
helped to establish in the Ministry
of National Solidarity, Human
Rights and Gender, as well as with
local NGOs and CBOs throughout
the country. The project was
funded through a grant from
the World Bank/ Multi Country
Demobilization and Reintegration
Program for the Greater Great
Lakes Region (MDRP). In June
2006, the project closed as planned,
and the project’s activities and
objectives were transitioned to the
Burundi National Demobilization,
Reinsertion and Reintegration
Program (NDRRP). With a team
of child protection specialists, the
NDRRP has carried on the activities
of the special project, and now
leads CAFF release, reunification,
reintegration and recruitment
prevention work in Burundi.
www.mdrp.org
Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program
September - October 2007
Following ten years of civil warollowing ten years of civil war
in Burundi, it was estimated thatin Burundi, it was estimated that
thousands of children had beenthousands of children had been
recruited or used by the armed groupsrecruited or used by the armed groups
party to the conflict – includingparty to the conflict – including
national armed forces, pro-national armed forces, pro-
governmental civil defense militias andgovernmental civil defense militias and
the various armed opposition groups.the various armed opposition groups.
To date, the release, family tracingTo date, the release, family tracing
and reunification, and community-and reunification, and community-
based socioeconomic reintegration ofbased socioeconomic reintegration of
over 3,000 of these children formerlyover 3,000 of these children formerly
associated with fighting forces (CAFF)associated with fighting forces (CAFF)
has been supported through thehas been supported through the
Burundi Child Soldier Demobilization,Burundi Child Soldier Demobilization,
Social Reintegration and RecruitmentSocial Reintegration and Recruitment
Prevention Special Project.Prevention Special Project.
This project had three majorThis project had three major
objectives: to demobilize; to supportobjectives: to demobilize; to support
social reintegration; and to preventsocial reintegration; and to prevent
the recruitment of child soldiers inthe recruitment of child soldiers in
Burundi. Program activities were wide-Burundi. Program activities were wide-
ranging and included: the preparationranging and included: the preparation
of communities for the return ofof communities for the return of
children; support to families caring forchildren; support to families caring for
CAFF (biological or foster); promotingCAFF (biological or foster); promoting
access to education and skillsaccess to education and skills
development opportunities; supportdevelopment opportunities; support
for those CAFF requiring specific care;for those CAFF requiring specific care;
strengthening psychosocial support atstrengthening psychosocial support at
the community level and; supportingthe community level and; supporting
youth participation projects such asyouth participation projects such as
community service initiatives, training,community service initiatives, training,
small business support, sports, culturalsmall business support, sports, cultural
activities, etc.
MDRP
DISSEMINATION NOTE
How are the beneficiaries of this
program faring? In 2006, the
MDRP commissioned a beneficiary
assessment of the children and young
people assisted under the framework
of the Burundi Child Soldier Special
Project in order to be able to better
answer this question. The study,
undertaken by independent consultant
Ratiba Taouti-Cherif, examined the
social and economic status of these
former child soldiers in relation to
other children in the community and
probed their family and community
relationships, level of social inclusion,
and economic opportunities and
vulnerabilities. It also assessed the
contribution of the project to the
socioeconomic wellbeing of its child
beneficiaries and their families.
A sample of over 280 children and
young people, randomly selected
from the 11 provinces of the country
with the greatest concentration of
project beneficiaries took part in the
quantitative and qualitative interviews
which formed the basis of this study.
Interviewees included both boys and
girls, children who had been associated
with the full range of armed groups
active in Burundi as well as their peers
1
This Dissemination Note is based on the report:
“Beneficiary Assessment of the Social and Economic
Status of the «Child Soldier» Special Project Beneficiaries in
Burundi”, prepared for the MDRP Secretariat in June 2006
by Ratiba Taouti-Cherif.
The Social and Economic Status of
Beneficiaries of the,Burundi Child Soldier
Demobilization, Social Reintegration and
Recruitment Prevention Special Project1

2. 2
Study Findings:
What did we learn
from the study?
1. Social Reintegration
The social reintegration of former
child soldiers in Burundi seems to be
progressing well. Interviews suggest
that children have been able to readapt
in their communities of residence. As
many children demobilized in pastmany children demobilized in past
years are now above 18 years old, theyears are now above 18 years old, the
sample included children, adolescentssample included children, adolescents
and young adults aged 13 to 25 – with
the majority falling between 17 and 19
years old, as illustrated in the graph
below. Community stakeholders
were also included in the study, and
participated in focus groups on issues
related to the socio-economic wellbeing
and reintegration of beneficiaries.
This note summarizes the main
findings of the beneficiary assessment
and their implications for reintegration
programming – particularly around
social reintegration, economic
reintegration and safety and security.
It aims to stimulate discussion on
support for children associated with
fighting forces and to identify ways
to strengthen current and future
programming.
of reintegration assistance from social
and educational aspects to economicand educational aspects to economic
and livelihood support.and livelihood support.
“In the army I was not“In the army I was not
well treated, I did notwell treated, I did not
get enough sleep.
Now I am feeling good
with my family”
“I am adapting to my
family. I am more and
more accepted.”
- Young man, 17 yrs
Age Distribution of Respondents
to their families and communities and
that most measures of their social well-that most measures of their social well-
being are consistent with those of other
civilian children in the community.
In terms of living situations, for
example, over 90% of both former
child soldiers and civilian children
who are not themselves the head
of their household live with their
biological parents or other members
of their biological family. Compared
to other countries with reintegrating
CAFF, foster families and independent
living arrangements are very rare in
Burundi. Interestingly, however, the
proportion of CAFF who are heads
of households, caring either for their
own spouses or children, or their
siblings, is considerably higher than for
civilian children – about one in four as
compared to one in fifteen.
This may partly be due to the younger
skew in ages of the control group
– as the proportion of respondents
who were heads of households
corresponded exactly to the proportion
of children in the CAFF sample and
civilian children sample which was
20 years of age or older (26% and 7%,
respectively). Nonetheless, it is an area
that would merit further consideration
and possibly a programming response,
to better equip reintegrating CAFF
for the responsibility of running a
household by shifting the main focus
Family reintegration has been
successful for the vast majority of
beneficiaries. Indeed, over 80% of
the CAFF interviewed said that their
family relations were good or very
good, and over 90% classed them
as neutral or good – slightly higher
than the results for civilian children.
A greater proportion of former child
soldiers also reported that they were
happy or very happy where they lived.
Finally, while domestic exploitation of
reintegrated CAFF can be a concern in
some country contexts, interviews in
Burundi found that respondents had
the same amount and type of household
chores as their peers and had the same
perception of the amount of work that
they did. Overall, former child solders
seemed to be well accepted into their
families and well treated within them
after their return from armed groups.
CAFF also seemed to share a similar
level of social wellbeing with the
other children in their communities
– though this was often low in
absolute terms. For example, while
over 90% of both groups of children
had access to housing, most felt that
their house was of a lower quality than
others. Utilization levels of health
services were also consistent, though
extremely low. Only about one third
of respondents used health services
which were identified as too expensive
by the majority of respondents.

3. 3
The study similarly found no
significant overall difference betweensignificant overall difference between
the perceptions of former child soldiersthe perceptions of former child soldiers
and their civilian children peers on theand their civilian children peers on the
food sufficiency of their households.food sufficiency of their households.
These results are notable, however,These results are notable, however,
as over three-quarters of respondentsas over three-quarters of respondents
from both groups said that they did notfrom both groups said that they did not
have enough to eat. This situation washave enough to eat. This situation was
particularly aggravated in provinces inparticularly aggravated in provinces in
which there was a high degree of food
insecurity and drought. These issues
around access to adequate housing,
health services and food point to the
need for wider community-based
support for all vulnerable children
and youth as a natural continuation
to targeted assistance to former child
soldiers in Burundi.
In terms of access to education, 70% of
the former child soldiers interviewed
were not enrolled in school – whether
formal or vocational – though a similar
proportion had attended school in the
past. However, 63% of the control
group were also not in school, though
this difference may partly be due to the
lower age range of the control group,
a much greater proportion of which
were children under the age of 16. Of
those CAFF who were not enrolled
in schooling, the two most common
reasons given were: (i) that schooling
was too expensive or they lacked the
means to enrol (43%) and; (ii) that they
were too old or had already completed
school (19%).
This is consistent with the most
recent national survey of development
indicators, which found that 43% of
children between 13 and 19 did not
attend school because of the cost.2
Particularly interestingly however, of
the CS sampled, 91% felt that they had
equal or greater access to school as
compared to only 75% of their peers,
suggesting that former child soldiers
do not feel excluded from educational
opportunities. CAFF who were
currently in education were almost
evenly split between formal schooling
and vocational training, for which
tailoring and construction were the
trades most commonly learned.
The dynamics of relations between
former child soldiers and their
communities again suggest that
former child soldiers are reintegrating
Thissuggeststhatfosteringinteractions
between child soldiers and communitybetween child soldiers and community
members, encouraging communitymembers, encouraging community
leaders to facilitate these children’sleaders to facilitate these children’s
participation in community life and
combating the stigma that former
child soldiers may face continue to be
important activities for reintegration
programs and other stakeholders to
pursue.
2
ISTEEBU 2003. « Enquête sur les Indicateurs de
développement, QUID 2002 ». Bujumbura, Burundi.
“The community“The community
accepts me. I am
alive, I could have died
during the war.”
- Young man, 18 yrs
Do you feel isolated in your community?
CAFF
Other children in the
community
Often 11.9% 5.5%
Sometimes 26.5% 14.5%
Never 61.5% 80.0%
2. Economic
Reintegration
Reintegrating into a country with
high poverty levels and a per capita
GDP below than $150, the economic
opportunities available to former child
soldiers in Burundi are often limited.
Yet despite this difficult context, the
data collected suggests that while
poor, former child soldiers are often
much better off than their civilian
peers. Almost half of the former CAFF
interviewed reported having at least
one source of income (as compared to
less than 30% of the civilian children),
including working for someone
else, running an income generating
activity, participating in an economic
association etc.
well, though they also highlight some
complicated issues around perceptions
and feelings of belonging. On the one
hand, the majority of these children
take part in community events and
community life (events such as
marriages and funerals, associative
and religious activities), and they are
even slightly more likely than their
civilian counterparts to participate.
Close to three-quarters of the former
child soldiers sampled felt that the
community had a good or neutral
perception of them – also a positive
trend, though this proportion was lower
than the 85% of civilian children who
shared this perspective. Finally CAFF
seemed to exhibit healthier behaviours
than their peers – alcohol use, for
example, was lower among this group
in the sample, despite their being much
older on aggregate than the civilian
sample (57% alcohol use, compared
to 67% among civilian children). Yet
despite these encouraging findings,
reintegrated children worryingly felt
isolated twice as often as their civilian
peers, as illustrated by the table above.
“My husbandry
project prospers,”
- Young man, 18 yrs

4. 4
3. Safety and Security
Concern for the safety and securityoncern for the safety and security
of former child soldiers after theirof former child soldiers after their
reintegration is often high asreintegration is often high as
these children may face the risk ofthese children may face the risk of
resentment from their communities,resentment from their communities,
re-recruitment from armed groupsre-recruitment from armed groups
or being perceived as witnesses ofor being perceived as witnesses of
war atrocities and other acts. Yet a
strong majority of the former child
soldiers interviewed, 7 out of 10,
felt safe in their communities – not
drastically lower than the 8 out of 10
civilian children who felt similarly
secure. The most common reasons
cited by children who felt insecure
were: the jealousy of neighbors; their
past in an armed group; and the fear
of (re-) recruitment by the FNL (Front
National de Libération / National
Liberation Front). Yet while study
findings suggest that, on aggregate,
insecurity is not a serious issue, former
For those former child soldiers who
had the opportunity to initiate anhad the opportunity to initiate an
income generating activity (IGA -income generating activity (IGA -
examples included agriculture andexamples included agriculture and
animal husbandry, bicycle taxis and
small businesses such as selling drinks
and household goods), over 75%
were satisfied with their enterprise,
most often because they felt that they
generated enough money and their
products were in demand. Moreover,
the majority of project beneficiaries
with IGAs perceived that their venture
was doing better compared to others’
– a further indication of their positive
economic outlook.
Economic reintegration support
provided by the program also seemed
to have reduced the vulnerability of
the families of reintegrating CAFF.
Families of special project beneficiaries
were more likely than their peers to
own both land and livestock (cows,
“I will progress like the
others. My goats are
multiplying and I’ll see
better days”
- Young man, 18 yrs
“Seeing what my job
as taxi brings me, I am
satisfied and have
hope.”
- Young man, 19 yrs
Nearly eighty percent of CAFF
with economic activities had used
reintegrationassistancefromtheproject
to start up their activity – suggesting
that reintegration support had made
a positive contribution to reducing the
economic vulnerability of beneficiaries.
Surprisingly given the difficult
economic context, the vast majority of
the economic activities of CAFF were
showing signs of sustainability; more
than three-quarters of the enterprises
had been active for over six months,
and almost half had been active for
more than a year.
goats, sheep, chickens). Twice as many
CAFF than civilian households ownedCAFF than civilian households owned
animals, for example (56% compared
to 23%), and 80% of these families
had financed their animal ownership
through reintegration assistance.
Overall, while the economic situation
of beneficiaries is often still low, the
CAFF interviewed are finding economic
opportunities upon their return to
the community and feeling a positive
impact from the reintegration support
that they and their families receive.
Furthermore, beneficiaries have also
been experiencing an improvement
in their economic situation over
time. The graph below reflects CAFF
perceptions of wealth in 2005 and
2006 and suggests that interviewees
felt that their wealth was improving
over time, as reflected by an upward
movement on the ladder.
37.4%
32.6%
19.4%
6.6%
0.9%
2005
30.1%
29.6%
23.0%
10.2%
0.9%
2006
Perceptions of wealth

5. 5
child soldiers from certain armed
groups and in particular provincesgroups and in particular provinces
feel much less secure than their peers.feel much less secure than their peers.
Fear of re-recruitment was particularlyFear of re-recruitment was particularly
high, for example, among respondentshigh, for example, among respondents
in the provinces of Cibitoke, Bubanzain the provinces of Cibitoke, Bubanza
and Kayanza, the zones in which theand Kayanza, the zones in which the
FNL has traditionally operated.FNL has traditionally operated.
that police protection was accessible
to them, and found it easier to accessto them, and found it easier to access
the police than did their civilian peers.
Yet children from armed parties and
political movements were more likely
to report having difficult access to
the police. These findings signal the
importance of continued efforts to
sensitize community leaders and fight
the discrimination and stigmatization
of former child soldiers because of their
past in armed groups. Ensuring that
children are able to turn to appropriate
authority figures when they feel
insecure will be particularly important
in preventing new child recruitment.
Encouragingly, despite incidents
of insecurity and theft, fears of re-
recruitment, differing levels of access
to protection and the ongoing activities
of armed groups, reintegrated
children and youth have not taken
up arms again. Their reluctance to
participate in armed conflict could
be an important asset to recruitment
prevention initiatives, including
strengthening community-based child
protection networks and developing
rapid response mechanisms.
“I do not have anything
left. Everything was
looted by the FNL.”
- Young man, 19 yrs
Do you feel secure in your community?
The graph below illustrates these
results, disaggregated by former child
soldiers’ force of origin. It illustrates
clearly that children demobilized from
armed parties and political movements
(like the FNL) feel less safe in their
communities than those demobilized
from the government forces or local
defense units.
This distinction in terms of force
of origin is also seen in children’s
perception of access to police
protection. In general, a large
majority of former child soldiers felt
4. Girls
“I rely on my training“I rely on my training
and am content with my
situation”
- Young woman, 18 yrs
Relatively few child soldiers in Burundi
were girls, and they account for only 46
out of the 3,015 children assisted by
the demobilization and reintegration
program to date. To remedy this, the
study doubled the representation of
girls in the former child soldier cohort
it used. The absolute number of girls
in the sample remained quite small,
however, and robust generalizations
on the status of female CAFF were
thus not possible. Nonetheless the
study did try to probe differences in the
experiences of male and female CAFF
and to identify any clear gender-related
trends. Most significantly, and counter
to the expectations of the researchers,
the study suggested that girls seemed
to be doing better than their male
counterparts on most variables related
to reintegration. These included, for
example, family relations, access to

6. 6
education and income generating
activities, satisfaction with where theyactivities, satisfaction with where they
live, access to police protection, currentlive, access to police protection, current
level of contentment and hope for thelevel of contentment and hope for the
future.
encourage creative and locally-relevant
income generating activities. As theincome generating activities. As the
study identified reintegrated childrenstudy identified reintegrated children
with an income generating activitywith an income generating activity
that yields money as the happiestthat yields money as the happiest
and the most positive about theirand the most positive about their
future, this support will be crucial infuture, this support will be crucial in
reducing dependence on reintegrationreducing dependence on reintegration
assistance. A final implication ofassistance. A final implication of
the findings is that with more than athe findings is that with more than a
quarter of former child soldiers heading
their households, almost three times
the proportion of civilian children in
this role, project beneficiaries might
benefit from specialized training
and guidance, including facilitating
linkages to wider programs supporting
vulnerable families.
‡ Former child soldiers and
their civilian peers share many
of the same social welfare issues.
Problems of access to basic services
such as quality housing, food aid or
health care, for example, were shown
not to be specific to former child
soldiers, but consistent with national
realities. As such, a developmental
response at the national level is
required. On relevant aspects of
socioeconomic well-being, community-
wide targeting of all vulnerable
children through development and
social protection programs is thus
essential to complement the short-term
individually-targeted reintegration
assistance provided to CAFF.
Study findings on CAFF isolation,
perceptions of security and access to
protectionalsohighlighttheimportance
of actively involving communities
in the reintegration process. Early
preparation of receiving communities
could help them to develop strategies
to facilitate former child soldiers’
participation in community life, to fight
the resentment, discrimination and
stigma they may face, and to prevent
recruitment and re-recruitment by
armed groups. Targeted follow-up with
children who have reported higher and
lower levels of isolation or community
resentment could also help to identify
best practices for avoiding or reducing
these problems.
“I live well thanks to my
parents and the sewing
association.”
- Young woman, 18 yrs
While a more detailed study would
be necessary to fully explore these
differences and their causes, one
possible explanation lies with the force
of origin distribution of the girls in the
sample. The majority of these girls had
belonged to the Gardiens de la Paix
territorial defense unit and as such had
operated within their home community
and, likely, remained resident in their
family home. These continued links to
their families and communities would
be expected to provide a stronger
foundation for a rapid and successful
socioeconomic reintegration process.
Study
Implications:
How can these
findings be
used?
As highlighted above, the study
illustrated that for the majority of
social and economic indicators,
reintegrated children are in a similar
or better situation as compared to
their civilian peers. This is not a
uniform trend, however, and the study
revealed that a child’s force of origin,
province of residence and age bracket
all have an impact on reintegration.
The study also found that the targeted
assistance provided to former child
soldiers has reduced the vulnerability
of beneficiaries and their families,
and that the impact of this assistance
is both visible and acknowledged by
beneficiaries. What do these findingsbeneficiaries. What do these findings
mean for child soldier and child
protection programming in Burundi
as well as for reintegration support to
child soldiers in other countries and
contexts?
‡ Targeted assistance reduced
the vulnerability of former child
soldiers and their families in
Burundi. This was a key finding of
the study. Economic vulnerability,
in particular, was seen to be strongly
reduced through project assistance
and the impact of this assistance was
apparent in both the revenues and
assets of project beneficiaries. While
suggesting that targeted support was
a valuable and appropriate approach
to promoting reintegration for CAFF
in Burundi, the study nonetheless
identified several ways in which
this assistance could be refined and
strengthened. While more than 90%
of the CAFF surveyed felt that they had
equal or greater access to education
than their peers, only 30% were
enrolled in learning programs. With
the high cost of education identified
as an obstacle for many respondents,
greater research is needed on the
educational needs and interests of
CAFF. Strengthening the capacity
of local educational institutions and
supporting the development of training
programs with appropriate didactic
approaches and flexible schedules
to allow students to simultaneously
pursue economic opportunities may
be one strategy for responding to the
survey results around education.
Given the very positive impact of the
assistance provided to beneficiaries
to start their own income generating
activities, this type of support should be
continued. As the study suggested that
many CAFF-run enterprises have been
active for over a year already, efforts to
identify the factors that have helped
these beneficiaries to succeed could
help the program to better support
other children to develop sustainable
endeavours. Market studies could
complement this research and

7. 7
‡ The challenges faced by
former child soldiers in theirformer child soldiers in their
reintegration process can differreintegration process can differ
greatly. The study highlighted thatThe study highlighted that
in Burundi, variables including age,in Burundi, variables including age,
location, force of origin and gender arelocation, force of origin and gender are
all relevant to a child’s reintegrationall relevant to a child’s reintegration
experience. Children in certainexperience. Children in certain
provinces, for example, had greaterprovinces, for example, had greater
fears of insecurity and re-recruitment,
while children from certain armed
groups felt more isolated in their
communities than their peers. Older
children seemed more likely to
have responsibilities for heading a
household, while girls were more likely
to have benefited from education and
income generating activities.
Providing assistance that, while
equitable, addresses the specific needs
of sub-groups of former child soldiers,
would thus be beneficial to their
reintegration. Some of the additional
considerations which the findings of
this survey suggest may be relevant
to developing tailored assistance
– whether in the Burundi context or
internationally – include: whether
children from particular armed parties
and political movements face particular
reintegration challenges, such as
stigma or community resentment;
what gender-based vulnerabilities
may be faced by either female and
male CAFF and; whether reintegratingmale CAFF and; whether reintegrating
children face insecurities or the threatchildren face insecurities or the threat
of re-recruitment in their communitiesof re-recruitment in their communities
of return and if so, what options exist
for rapid response mechanisms to
ensure their protection. One final sub-
group of former child soldiers who are
likely to have specialized needs and
whose experiences were not explicitly
addressed in this study were those
with conflict-related chronic medical
conditions and disabilities and full
consideration of the unique issues they
face would thus also make a valuable
contribution to strengthening future
reintegration programming.
For more information on the Burundi Child Soldier Demobilization, Social Reintegration and Recruitment
Prevention Special Project or on other MDRP-supported programming for former child soldiers, please visit:
www.mdrp.org