Burundi is one of poorest countries in the world, ranked 185 out of 187 countries on the UN's Human Development Index (2011). Life expectancy at birth is just 50 years, and only 52 percent of females are able to read and write.

 

My organization, Five Talents, works in the country with Mothers' Union, an organization that has been successfully training Burundians in literacy and numeracy since 2005. Three years ago, Five Talents began partnering with Mothers' Union in order to provide business skills training, as well as savings and credit group formation, to the literacy program participants.

 

Over the last three years, more than 13,500 women and men have joined savings groups, or "associations," and received training in basic business skills, like accounting and marketing. Incredibly, another 50,000 are waiting in the wings. About 80 percent of these women and men live in rural, under-served communities.

 

I wanted to communicate the rural nature of our work in Burundi, so I used photographs in place of larger icons and illustrations in this infographic. The flow of information in the infographic, meanwhile, moves from general to specific, ending with a case study of a community in the diocese of Buye.