JAMAA is a non-governmental organization established since October 2nd 1995.

It was initiated as a youth movement to stop community violence by young people involved in the ethnic killings erupted across the country in 1993-1994 in the midst of the troubled period of ethnic killings after the assassination of Melchior Ndadaye, the first democratically elected president.

JAMAA Association seeks to prevent conflicts, especially among young people, and support peace-building while uniting Burundian youth to work for a fair, peaceful and democratic society.

Mission: Promote a conscious, organized and united youth for its own development and that of Burundi.

JAMAA's activities include regular mediation and dialogues facilitation between youth groups or communities in conflicts; increase awareness on good governance, improve social and economic integration by promoting youth entrepreneurship and employability capacity building programs; community work; and debates which aim to reinforce the youth resilience V/S political and economic lobby.

In the past two decades, JAMAA has worked on a number of projects including:

• "Youth for peace and reconciliation" with the support of SER Foundation.
• "Caravan connect now" with War Child Holland, a project to promote kid's rights.
• Peace and Development Project Northern Sector of Bujumbura / Financial Partner, Peace and Development Canada.

The main activities were :

• Community exchanges on ending violence and reconciliation
• School awareness campaign with film/debate, adult literacy and production of a monthly newsletter "JAMAA-INFO" on current events in the northern sector
• Training in trades for about a hundred young people ( carpentry, leatherwork, sewing, welding)
• Financial support for 50 mixed Hutu-Tutsi youth economic groups
• Gardons Contact Project: Peace and good coexistence in Bujumbura Town Hall and rural Bujumbura

Main activities and technical and financial partners :

• Mobilization of young people for peace, security and good coexistence through youth retreats "Night of Truth" and the organization of football tournaments/ Search for common ground /USA
• Production of a Comic Strip N°1 "The Best Choice" which has officially become a national pedagogical tool for peace education education people with "Honorary Mention" at the world competition organized by UNESCO April 2003/Search for common ground /USA.
• Visit to two Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania (Kasuru, Kibondo) for exchange of information on peace and reconciliation and distribution of comic strips/HCR
• Participation in two regional youth camps (Burundi, Congo, Uganda, Tanzania) in Ngozi and Mwaro for sustainable construction for the Batwa/Christian-Aid UK
• Conception of a Comic Book N°2 "Eye for Eye Yes or No ?" with the concept of a community vision of repatriation and good cohabitation, followed by a wide distribution of the book in Bujumbura and in all the communes of the provinces of Muyinga, Makamba, Cankuzo and Ruyigi. With funding from the Norwegian Refugee Council.
• Building of a Public Space for Young People with a multipurpose hall (capacity: 150 people), a mixed Basketball and Volleyball field, green areas with covered bleachers. The average rate of attendance at the centre is around four thousand young people per month/Christian aid UK.
• Organisation of a work camp for young people for the restoration and reconstruction of more than 150 houses in Musaga and Kanyosha after the attack of the PALIPEHUTU-FNL in the said communes in July 2004. More than 10 local organizations participated in the activity/ Funded by : O.C.H.A/Burundi, P.N.U.D (P.C.A.C),C.N.R, SOLIDALITE, OXFAM Quebec, Embassy of Belgium, UNICEF, H.C.R, S.F.C.G, CHRISTIAN-AID, Ministry of "3Rs", Ministry of Interior.
• Campaign to accompany the process towards the National Referendum on the Constitution and elections at all levels in 2005, to prevent possible slippage in the violence, facilitate the circulation of good information, and exchange activities on good behaviour/Diakonie Emergency Aid Germany.
• Organization of conferences and debates with 400 young people from 13 communes of the Bujumbura, Cankuzo and Bururi City Hall on the notions of good governance and the preparation of the 2010 elections/ Christian Aid UK

JAMAA is currently implementing a new gender based program to promote the respect and the defense of women's rights through public debates competitions among students in private and public local universities.This program is named "Murundikazi Urashoboye", it means: "Burundian woman yes you can"/France Embassy

All those activities have contributed to stop youth violence and created a good neighborhood for strong social cohesion and better cohabitation in our country.

JAMAA has established an active youth network at a national level