Kazinduzi is a community-driven platform for documenting and preserving the Kirundi language — powered by open-source technology, cultural pride, and collective knowledge.
It allows users to collaboratively contribute Kirundi words, meanings, and linguistic context. It promotes learning, preserves heritage, and encourages engagement through gamification, mobile access, and community moderation.
The official Kazinduzi platform is live at:
This is not just a demo — it is the core destination for discovering, contributing, and preserving Kirundi words, expressions, and meanings. Every feature you see in the repository is actively powering the live platform:
- 📚 Browse a growing database of Kirundi words
- ✍️ Add your own meanings and suggestions
- 🗳 Vote on the best definitions and boost quality
- 🏅 Climb the leaderboard and earn reputation
- 🤝 Invite others through referral links
- 🛡 Help moderate content as a trusted contributor
Whether you're a native speaker, language learner, linguist, teacher, or developer, Kazinduzi.org is built for you. Join us in building a public, digital resource for Kirundi — one word at a time.
“Uwutazi ikirundi akirundararamwo.”
- 📚 Submit and search Kirundi words with rich meanings
- 🔄 Each word can have multiple meanings by different users
- 🗳 Voting system for meanings (StackOverflow-style)
- 🏆 Reputation system to reward contributors
- 🎯 Referral program with bonus points for verified invites
- 🔍 Search with autocomplete and smart filtering
- 🌐 API endpoints for all core features
- 🛡 Community moderation: trusted users can suspend content and users
- ⚡ Featured, Trending, and Recent words on homepage
- 🌗 Dark mode toggle
- 💬 Social sharing buttons for referral links
- 📊 Leaderboard with time-based filters (Today, This Week, All Time)
- Backend: Laravel 10.x (PHP 8+)
- Frontend: Blade + Bootstrap 5
- Database: MySQL / MariaDB
- Mobile Client: Android (Java, RealmDB, WorkManager)
- Sync Mechanism: Custom API sync for words, meanings, votes, and users
git clone https://github.com/Akanyaburunga/kazinduzi_backend.git
cd kazinduzi_backendcomposer install
npm install && npm run devCreate your .env file:
cp .env.example .envMake sure you give values to these keys in .env:
APP_NAME=
DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL=
DEFAULT_ADMIN_NAME=
DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=
TURNSTILE_SITEKEY=
TURNSTILE_SECRET=
MODERATION_REPUTATION_THRESHOLD=Then run:
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --seed
php artisan serve✅ This will create a default admin user and seed curated Kirundi words from a pre-compiled JSON file.
A fully functional Android app (Java + Realm) is under development. It supports:
- Offline viewing and searching
- Background syncing of new and updated words/meanings
- On This Day + mini-leaderboard on homepage
- Dark mode and search filters
Source to be published separately soon.
- Email verification required in production
- Optional 6-digit verification code (instead of links)
- Users must be verified to vote, contribute, or invite
Users gain reputation points by:
- Adding new words and meanings
- Getting upvotes
- Inviting verified users via referral links
Users with high reputation (configurable via .env) gain moderation privileges:
- Ban users
- Suspend/unsuspend content (words and meanings)
All moderation actions are logged and reversible.
We welcome your help! Whether you're a:
- Developer (Laravel, Android)
- Translator or Kirundi language expert
- Teacher, linguist, or cultural ambassador
See CONTRIBUTING.md to get started.
You can also join our community on Discord or WhatsApp.
See ROADMAP.md for upcoming features and goals.
Some planned features:
- In-app notifications
- Profile pages and badges
- Cultural examples and word categories
- Speech input for pronunciation
- Word games and quizzes
Run tests (if applicable):
php artisan testThis project is open-sourced under the MIT License.
Kazinduzi is created and maintained by Akanyaburunga, with love for the Kirundi language and Burundian heritage.
Akanyaburunga is a nonprofit organization registered in Burundi with a mission to revive, preserve, and promote Burundian cultural heritage. We believe that language is a living vessel of identity, wisdom, and belonging — and that by protecting it, we reconnect with who we are.
Kazinduzi is one of Akanyaburunga’s flagship initiatives, designed to:
- 🌍 Preserve and celebrate the Kirundi language
- 🧠 Make local knowledge freely accessible
- 🤝 Empower communities to contribute and shape their own cultural resources
- 💡 Harness technology for language revival and education
Through Kazinduzi, Akanyaburunga envisions a generation of Burundians who are not only fluent in Kirundi but also proud of the cultural legacy it carries.
📢 Learn more about Akanyaburunga and our initiatives at
👉 https://akanyaburunga.org (more resources coming soon).
Contributors are welcome and celebrated!
“The death of a language is the death of the soul of a people.” — Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan writer and language advocate
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” — Nelson Mandela