Kiliba

Kiliba is a town on the Congolese side of a border crossing between Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is about 17 km from the Burundi capital Bujumbura and 25 km from Uvira in South Kivu Province of the DRC.

The Kiliba border crossing is over the Ruzizi River, the nearest crossing to Lake Tanganyika. The Mitumba Mountains lie to the west.

Kiliba has been very known in the DRC for the sugar cane mill of Sucraf-Sucki. It was the second biggest and the oldest sugar mill in the whole DRC. Unfortunately today, the factory has been destroyed in the civil war which started in 1996—the First Congo War. It survived the first phases of the war, but was eventually closed between 1998 and 2000.

“Kiliba is very known place in the DRC because it’s the place where all the wars started and it’s where the number of orphans, widows and street children could be the highest in the all Congo. it is a place of many colors because of the rendezvous of all the tribes who came to work there.”

In recent times Fondation chirezi has begun programs for the local community.