THARS is the premier mental health organization in Burundi. Notwithstanding, mental health treatment in Burundi is quite different than it is in the United States. Few counselors can provide ongoing, individualized care to their clients because they are bound by project-based interventions. Often, counselor’s salaries are tied to the projects that donors have funded for limited timespans. When this funding expires, typically after 1 or 2 years, counselors move back to their homes and await new assignments with new funding. This puts a tremendous strain on the counselors as well as the communities they serve. For years, the counselors’ main purpose has been to raise awareness of mental health, trauma, and the devastating effects of violence and conflict on communities across Burundi.

Now, some communities are realizing that mental health exists and that ongoing treatment is important. But, as soon as counselors begin to make progress, they are forced to move back home and await funding to continue their work. It is worth mentioning that the process in the United States and other countries is quite distinct from the Burundian context. In the US, health insurance typically covers the cost of mental health treatment. Lower-income residents who qualify for Medicaid can also access mental health treatment through their Medicaid coverage. There are stipulations but, for the most part, there are options for US residents to access ongoing, individualized mental health treatment. In Burundi, THARS has been steadily working towards raising awareness of mental health and combatting the various stigmas around counseling and mental health treatment. THARS has been tremendously successful on the communal level with group therapy and community programs, but there are no mechanisms in place to charge for services even when community members seek individualized treatment.

Those counselors rely on project-based funding and as long as those projects are funded for limited time spans without regard to client caseload or ongoing mental health treatment, the problem will persist. More stable and consistent funding for counselors’ salaries would be ideal but a great deal more difficult to outline in a proposal.