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Village Health Works Organization
Village Health Works  is a grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides quality, compassionate, dignified health care in rural Burundi, East Africa.

History
Village Health Works was founded on December 25th, 2005 when Deogratias Niyizonkiza gathered with a group of 15 people (11 men and 4 women) from the remote village of Kigutu, South Burundi to talk about their issues after the Burundian civil war was over. After that meeting, the Kigutu community—mainly farmers—donated 25 acres of land and started making bricks to build a clinic that since 2007 in Kigutu: the Sharon McKenna Community Health Center.

Founder
Deogratias "Deo" Niyizonkiza, VHW's visionary founder and CEO, is a leading advocate for the most impoverished people in the world. His compassion, expertise, and life experience have made him a key voice in global health and international development. An American citizen, Deo was born in rural Burundi, where he attended grade school and part of medical school. He left the country during the catastrophic war that lasted more than a decade and took the lives of hundreds of thousands people. Deo survived not only this man-made tragedy and poverty, but also homelessness in New York City. Deo’s life journey is told in Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Kidder’s most recent work, Strengh In What Remains. Despite the hurdles he faced in the U.S. he eventually enrolled at Columbia University, where he received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and philosophy. After graduating from Columbia, he attended the Harvard School of Public Health, where he met Dr. Paul Farmer and began working at the medical nonprofit organization Partners In Health. He left Partners In Health to continue his medical education at Dartmouth Medical School. In 2005, guided by his unwavering conviction that humanity’s progress should be measured by how we honor the dignity of others, including those a world away, Deo traveled back to Burundi. There, he established Village Health Works, with the goal of removing barriers to dignity and progress by creating a model healthcare system. Deo's passion rallied the community of Kigutu into action and the health center opened in December 2007. Deo's success in building an entirely community-driven health and development organization is unprecedented, and makes Village Health Works unique among NGOs. A frequent lecturer on global health, Deo is the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2014 Wheaton College Otis Social Justice Award, the 2014 Dalai Lama Unsung Hero of Compassion Award, the 2013 People to People International's Eisenhower Medallion Award, a 2013 honorary degree from Williams College, the 2011 International Medal Award of St. John’s University, and the 2010 Women Refugee Commission’s Voices of Courage Award.

Mission
VHW's mission at Village Health Works is to provide quality, compassionate health care in a dignified environment while also treating the root causes and social determinants of illness, disease, violence, and neglect. VHW does so in collaboration with the local communities and other partners.

Vision
VHW envisions a healthy mind in a healthy body, a productive, prosperous and peaceful Burundian society that can inspire others beyond their own backyard and become an active contributor in building a world we all wish to live in.

Peace Building
In post-conflict areas, building lasting peace can only be accomplished if economies grow, disparate groups begin to work together, and people start to believe that the future is bright. Through health and education programs, VHW is building lasting peace for a region that has suffered decades of war and strife. Former enemies once dehumanized by misery and poverty now work together, offering each other compassionate medical care and building the local economy in partnership.

Governments and International Organizations

 * Department of State of the United States of America's Government
 * Ministry of Public Health of Burundian Government
 * UNICEF
 * UNFPA

Non Governmental Organization

 * Partners In Health
 * Direct Relief International
 * Compassionate Action Network International

Foundations

 * Crown Family Philanthropies
 * The ELMA Foundation
 * 11th Hour Project - The Schmidt Family Foundation
 * SEGAL Family Foundation
 * Project Redwood
 * Books for Kigutu