When Ken Inadomi committed to sponsor Project Redwood grant applicant Village Health Works (VHW), founded by Deogratias “Deo” Niyizonkiza, he was drawn in by Deo’s extraordinary story. That story turned Ken’s commitment into passion.
In 1993, ethnic violence in Burundi claimed members of Deo’s family and forced him to flee the country. He eventually arrived in New York City, where he survived by sleeping in Central Park and delivering groceries for $15 a day. With the support of mentors, Deo learned English, earned degrees in medicine and public health, and ultimately returned to Burundi in 2006 to found Village Health Works, bringing desperately needed healthcare to underserved communities.
In 2013, despite ongoing State Department warnings about conditions in Burundi, Ken traveled there to see VHW’s work firsthand.
The trip changed him.
“It was clear that the role VHW plays in the lives of Burundians is profound,” Ken says. “Medical care, food production, job creation, mental health, women’s empowerment — their impact touches everything.”
Project Redwood’s grants to VHW have focused on food production and nutrition through agricultural cooperatives, demonstration gardens, and livestock herds. Ken saw the impact firsthand. He arrived in time for a quarterly harvest celebration. where he distributed beef jerky he had brought from the United States, and was affectionately called “the kind man who brought dried meat.”
Ken witnessed a community in the early stages of transformation. At the time, Burundians walked for days to reach VHW’s four doctors — in a country of more than 14 million people served by just 200 physicians. Today, VHW’s holistic approach has grown into a 150-bed teaching hospital, schools, and agricultural and food security programs serving more than 200,000 people, programs that Project Redwood helped initiate.
Deo’s extraordinary story is chronicled in Tracy Kidder’s bestselling book The Strength in What Remains. Ken recommends it. After what he saw in Burundi, it’s easy to understand why.