Fields of Life

At the invitation of Fields of Life in partnership with the Northern Ireland Office, His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of Burundi, visited Northern Ireland for the first time in April 2008.  The purpose of his visit was to learn more about the peace process and how Northern Ireland has developed in the aftermath of the Troubles.  He met with politicians, senior government officials, church leaders and inter-community groups who have been instrumental in creating the current political climate within the Province.

The President and his delegation arrived on Wednesday 2nd April 2008, and that evening Fields of Life hosted a Reception at Hillsborough Castle.  This was an opportunity for many friends of the organisation to welcome the President to Northern Ireland.  The reception was followed by a private dinner for the President and the Strategy Group of Fields of Life in the State Dining Room.

The next day, the Rt Hon The Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Jim Rodgers, welcomed the President to Clarendon Buildings, Clarendon Dock, Belfast.  They then moved inside to the Conference Room where the Lord Mayor invited the Head of Economic Initiatives, Belfast City Council, to present an economic overview of Belfast.  The Lord Mayor then accompanied the President on a brief visit to Belfast City Hall, followed by a short walk along Royal Avenue where they met with shoppers and well-wishers.

The President then travelled to Parliament Buildings, Stormont, where he was greeted by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA.  He then accompanied him to the Office of the First Minister, the Rt Hon Dr Ian Paisley MP MLA.  President Nkurunziza and the First Minister enjoyed an informal meeting before moving to the Great Hall to address the Burundi Press Delegation and the Northern Ireland media.  The President then met with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly's All Party Group on International Development, as well as invited guests.  Mrs Carmel Hanna MLA introduced the President, Irish Minister for State Mr Michael Kitt TD, and Mr Jim Wells MLA.

The President was also greeted by Junior Minister Mr Gerry Kelly MLA.  During their meeting, the President shared his story, and the Burundi Foreign Minister Mrs Antionette Batumibwira outlined their country's plight.  Following that, the Burundian party travelled to the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, where the President met the Vice Chancellor Professor Richard Barnett, and addressed the invited guests.  That evening, the Speaker hosted a dinner at Parliament Buildings in honour of the President and the work of the Development Agencies here in Northern Ireland.

The following morning, Fields of Life hosted a fundraising breakfast for a number of invited guests in Hillsborough Castle.  Mr Trevor Stevenson, CEO Fields of Life, and the President both addressed the audience, highlighting the need for assistance for Burundi to allow the country to become much more self-sufficient.

President Nkurunziza and the Burundian delegation then visited Forthspring Inter-Community Centre, North Belfast.  They were greeted by Reverend Jon Wonnacott, Chief Executive.  The President then walked a short distance to view the Peace Wall. 

That afternoon, the President visited Friends School, Lisburn.  He was formally greeted by the Principal, Mrs Elizabeth Dickson, and by the Head Girl, Miss Kerry Gilbert.  A group of students performed some traditional Irish music.  The students gave a short overview on Friends School, which was delivered in French.  A group of sixth-form students from Friends and Rathmore Grammar then made a short presentation on their cross -community work.

The party then made the short journey to Armagh to meet with the leaders of the four main churches in Northern Ireland.  He briefed them on the role of the church in Burundi during its years of conflict, and subsequent peace-building.  Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop Alan Harper and Roman Catholic Primate Cardinal Sean Brady spoke about the challenges facing the churches in Northern Ireland in dealing with reconciliation.

That evening the President travelled to the Odyssey Complex to meet with Franklin Graham.  He then attended the Celebration of Hope event in the Odyssey Arena.

We at Fields of Life would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who assisted before and during the Presidential visit.  Special thanks go to the Northern Ireland Office, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, and the Office of the Speaker.  To view the pictures of the visit, please visit the Galleries.

We currently have a number of high quality photo books of the visit, which were made cost-effectively using book-making software.  The book is titled "The visit to Northern Ireland by the President of Burundi".  The book tells the story of the President's visit, and is packed with high quality photographs.  It is priced at £5.99.  If you would like to purchase one, please contact the Portadown FOL office at info@fieldsoflife.com, or by calling 028 3839 0395.