On August 2, 2025, the Service Yezu Mwiza (SYM) a socio-medical organization fighting against HIV/AIDS in the Jesuit Rwanda-Burundi province marked its 17th anniversary in a celebration filled with joy, gratitude, and reflection. The milestone was honored by a pastoral visit from His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican who had been accompanied by Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi, Monsignor Dieudonné Datonou. Attending the event was also Fr. Fabien Gasigwa, Provincial of the Rwanda-Burundi Jesuit Province and Fr. Ismael Matambura, Director of the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN).

Following a tour of the centre’s various services, Fr. Désiré Yamuremye, Jesuit representative in Burundi, took the floor to welcome the Cardinal. He began by saying, “It is an immense joy for us, on behalf of the Jesuit Association which I legally represent, to have the privilege of welcoming His Eminence Michael Cardinal Czerny. Thank you, Your Eminence, for thinking of Burundi and specifically for beginning your pastoral visit with this Service Yezu Mwiza centre, which you know very well. You were once the coordinator of the African Jesuit AIDS Network. You were the author, the motor, and the realization of the dream of this project of the former Jesuit region of Rwanda-Burundi.”

He continued with a deeply personal reflection: “Let me remind the August assembly present here that it was with you, when I was still young, that you approached me—already as a Father—to come and begin this work. It was March 3, 2008. I made the trip as a student to see how the centre could be set up. And it was with funding from the African Jesuit AIDS Network, which you coordinated, that we began this work which has become immense in service to the Church and the nation.”

With warmth, he added, “I would like to solemnly welcome you to this beautiful country, the land of milk and honey, a country where peace reigns while we remain in solidarity with our neighbors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whom you will visit today—victims of injustice who have become refugees on this land of asylum, which is Burundi. Your presence among us strengthens our momentum to move forward because your prayers, Your Eminence, accompany us.”

Cardinal Czerny responded with heartfelt emotion: “Dear brothers and sisters, I am very, very, very happy to be here. I am full of ideas and emotions. For a child to grow to 17 years means going through very important stages and not always easy ones. Now that it is 17 years old, it means that childhood is over and adult life is about to begin. We see evidence of this in all the important things that the centre is accomplishing.”

He added, “I am here today, practically for a 17th anniversary, to bring you the greeting and the blessing of our Holy Father Leo XIV. We are all invited by the Holy Father to work together, to walk together, to realize the Kingdom of God.”

Reflecting on the Gospel, the Cardinal posed a thoughtful question: “One might ask, why in the Gospel are most of the events we see about Jesus focused on healing? Why did Jesus heal so many people? It is to express the nature of God—that God wants to heal us, that God wants to save us. And thanks be to God that the Service Yezu Mwiza Centre is participating in this work of God—the work of salvation, the work of liberation, the work of healing.”

Fr. Pascal Nduwimana, the Executive Director of the centre, addressed the audience, saying, “It is an honor for the centre’s staff and the beneficiaries to welcome His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny to the Service Yezu Mwiza Centre in a context marked by the HIV&AIDS crisis. Our vision was clear from the beginning: to bring a human response, a spiritual response, and a medical response to the suffering of people living with HIV, especially the most vulnerable and the forgotten.”

He elaborated, “We now offer a wide range of services. These include the prevention and treatment of HIV, screening and follow-up for tuberculosis, maternal and child health, therapeutic education, and risk reduction related to drug use. A new service—cervical cancer screening and treatment—has been introduced recently. While it has been presented to our partners, it is not yet officially launched.”

Fr. Pascal emphasized, “We are particularly proud of our holistic approach, which links medical care, psychosocial support, and spiritual accompaniment. It is an honor for the beneficiaries, for our partners, and for all of us working here to receive His Eminence Cardinal Czerny, who is responsible for integral human development at the Vatican. He has come to witness with his own eyes what we are doing here, and what we do fits within the scope of his work at the Vatican and around the world, in the universal Church.”

He added, “The next step of his visit will be to meet refugees in refugee camps. All of this is part of promoting human dignity, which is also what we do here. This is a strong message for us to continue this work and this service to humanity—to promote dignity and integral health.”

Fr. Pascal went on to highlight the achievements: “Our accomplishments include HIV&AIDS care, cancer treatment programs, and a methadone program to support drug users. There are other services such as maternal and child prevention. We have achieved a great deal. We have served thousands of people—some have been cured, others continue with treatment. We are truly satisfied with what we have accomplished.”

Fr. Fabien Gasigwa, Provincial of the Rwanda-Burundi Jesuit Province, spoke with emotion: “It is with great joy and deep gratitude that I speak today on the occasion of this exceptional visit of His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This visit is an opportunity to give thanks for the wonders that God is accomplishing through our apostolic mission, particularly through this service—an emblematic work of the Society of Jesus in service of the integral health of the most vulnerable in Burundi.”

He continued, “For over 17 years, the Service Yezu Mwiza Centre has embodied our desire to walk with the excluded as a reminder of the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus through the fight against HIV&AIDS, infectious diseases, and other associated illnesses. Through psychosocial support, community care, mobile clinics, listening, health education, and socio-economic support, we have offered holistic support to people suffering from leprosy, cervical cancer, orphans, the most vulnerable and needy, and more recently, to users of injectable drugs.”

He concluded, “The service has become a place where compassion becomes action, where faith becomes service, and where the Gospel is lived in the flesh of those who suffer.”

Speaking on behalf of invited guests, Arbin Bonané expressed his appreciation: “On behalf of the guests, we say thank you for involving us in this event. We encourage the Jesuit Fathers to look beyond what we see today and to have the vision of building a hospital to save even more people. It’s truly a noble vision. I don’t promise anything—except prayer. And the Lord will do the rest.”

As a token of gratitude, the beneficiaries of the Service Yezu Mwiza Centre offered gifts to His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny, to Fr. Désiré Yamuremye, and to the Apostolic Nuncio of Burundi. Many testified that if it weren’t for the Centre, their lives would not have been saved.

By, Dennis Owuoche,

AJAN Communications Officer.