A/HRC/4/5 page 17 64. During his seventh visit to Burundi, the independent expert visited the Batwa community of Zege in the province of Gitega. The representative of the community, which comprises 60 families complained about discrimination which has consequences on the realization of their fundamental human rights, such as the right to food, to proper housing, to land ownership as well as the access to water supply. They submitted a petition in this respect and further explained that their children were dropping out of school because of hunger. Some of them also complained that members of other Burundi communities were taking hold of their plots of land. The independent expert encouraged the community to take advantage of the measures adopted by the Government regarding free primary education, free health care for expectant mothers and children under 5 years, and of the newly set up Commission on land and other properties, in which the Batwas were represented. 65. The independent expert visited Maison Shalom, an NGO in Ruyigi, which provides a foster home for orphans of war who are handed back to relatives once those have been traced. Maison Shalom also ensures professional training and reintegration to former combatants and other categories of young persons abandoned or neglected by their families, among them the blind, the deaf, the mute, the HIV positive. All are trained according to their abilities with a view to enabling them to earn their living when they leave the facility. Maison Shalom has extended its services to the whole community through the different activities it promotes, such as agriculture, livestock, sewing, mechanics and entertainment, among others. Maison Shalom is an outstandingly successful community-based initiative which ensures the enjoyment of the rights of the child and the economic and social rights to its direct beneficiaries and the whole surrounding community. 66. Food security is a perennial problem in Burundi due mainly to overpopulation. The situation has been worsened this year by unusually heavy rains, which have destroyed crops. The independent expert visited a centre in the north of Burundi, which takes care of malnourished children. During the time of the visit, 100 children were admitted to this centre. The NGO Action Against Hunger works at providing food to the most affected children of Mwumba commune and is facing growing challenges due to the increasing number of malnourished children and lack of resources. Unfortunately, not all children in need have access to this programme. The administrator of this commune informed the independent expert that more than 50 persons have already died because of the famine. All northern provinces have been affected by this crisis and, consequently, residents continue to immigrate to other provinces in Burundi, to Rwanda and to the United Republic of Tanzania. In this regard, many children were reported to have dropped out of school in 2006/07 because of lack of food. The Government of Burundi declared that 9 provinces out of 14 are under emergency and need assistance. 67. As mentioned in the independent expert’s last reports (E/CN.4/2006/109, para. 62 and A/61/360, paras. 95 and 96), the Government had put in place a programme of free primary education. This programme had resulted in opportunity for many children who would otherwise be unable to obtain basic education. The international community has given its full support to the programme, and although it has encountered many problems, it is working fairly well. The international community needs to continue to extend its support in order to facilitate the full implementation of this programme.