One in five children, around 700,000, in Burundi, the world’s third poorest country, are orphans. Four in ten children were never registered at birth, which makes it difficult for them to access health care, go to school or inherit property. When, in 1992, Spés and her sister began looking after children who had lost their parents to AIDS, they set up the organization FVS, which is now called FVS Amade. The mass murder during the long civil war that started in 1993 led to many children being orphaned. Spès and FVS have worked to find these children new homes. Spès received the World’s Children’s Honorary Award 2019.