Tales from Africa
We may be out of Africa but Africa is not out of us…
We returned home from our travels late Tuesday night in time to sleep one day and head for Thanksgiving celebrations with family.
Today we are resting, reflecting and collecting ourselves…
I had the joy of leading a small group of friends on travels to Kenya and Burundi and a leading group of 27 through a week in Rwanda this November.
We visited a HIV support group in the slums of Nairobi, walked with giraffe in West Kenya, played with children at a Mennonite school in the Mathare slum of Nairobi.
We carried clothing to orphans in Kigali, Rwanda and soccer gear to a Rwanda boys village team.
At Mbyo village in Rwanda we sat on narrow wooden benches and listened as genocide perpetrators and genocide survivors shared their respective difficult stories. And then listened in amazement as they shared the process of forgiveness, trust and reconciliation forged between them because of their commitment to follow Jesus and his ways.
We met inspiring people who have almost nothing for themselves but who work to give everything they have to be sure that orphans in Rwanda have food. In this land filled with stories of death and betrayal there are even more powerful stories; radiant stories of healing and hope of God bringing new life to places where it seemed new life would not be possible. We joined in this spirit of hope and redemption as we joined with the beautiful Rwandans to dance, sing and drum nearly everywhere we went.
All these friends and experiences filled our hearts as we prepared to head to Burundi with our smaller team of 7 from the Pacific NW. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing the Rwanda experiences with our new friends from South Africa but it was good timing to shift back to our smaller local group and reconnect. At this juncture in the trip all our energy reserves were low, several were struggling with some intestinal trouble and each of our hearts and minds were so full from all we’d experienced in our 3 days in Kenya and 7 days in Rwanda. Most of the group couldn’t imagine absorbing more in Burundi.
Thanks however to our incredible host, Freddy the director of Youth for Christ Burundi, we had an amazing time in Burundi. Freddy altered our schedule to accommodate our tired bodies but to still give us the chance to see most of what we had been scheduled to see and with his good sense of humor, patience and sensitivity he led us well.
The house we rented was peaceful and gave us some room to stretch out a bit. We were a bit disappointed to find that the water was still cold (most of us had no hot running water once we left Kenya) but, the warm temperatures made cold water somewhat refreshing!
We were welcomed at the airport with hospitality that bested the finest of Hawaiian Island greetings (and temperatures and humidity that did too as two YFC members (one of whom I met in Uganda last year) who are also airport employees scheduled themselves to greet us before they began their work shift. They met us with smiles and warm hugs as we disembarked, took all our carryon’s, helped us find seats and then took over the whole process of entry paperwork (which was all in French so their help was appreciated). They led us through security and into the arms of a throng of waiting Burundi friends who showered us with warm greetings, bouquets of fresh tropical flowers for each one in the group and refused to let us carry a single bag.
By the time we left the airport we all felt heartened, renewed and joyful, ready to better know these kind people who were so gracious.
We felt a palpable sense of peace and new energy that took us by surprise.
It was good to be able to ride to our house with my friend Claude so we could catch up as he was preparing to leave the country just an hour after our arrival and it was wonderful to reunite with Burundian friends Evariste and Gloriose who I spent time with in Uganda in May.
While the group unpacked, freshened up and took a short nap, I went with our host Freddy to change money to Burndian francs for the group and to purchase bottled water and to get a look at the bustling city of Bujumbura. New sights energize me and I could hardly wait to “meet” Burundi. Upon return we all piled into three cars driven by Burundian friends and headed off to the Batwa/pygmy tribe village. The driving conditions were quite challenging as an impressive storm that was monsoon-like hit while we were making our way to the village. Just as we arrived the storm cleared, the sun reappeared and we were greeted by thunderous clapping, stomping and singing as the beautiful Batwa people gathered en mass to welcome us.
We were swept up by the dancers and joined in the stomping and leaping and shouting. After the enthusiastic greeting, words of welcome were spoken, speeches were made by the village leaders and we were invited to walk through the village and enter the homes of the people.
Arriving just after the fierce storm was an eyeopener. The huts were picturesque traditional grass structures but the reality is that they provide little to no shelter from the elements. Rivulets rushed through the hut floors on this hillside, the walls were damp and mildewy, goats and children alike took shelter and slept on thin grass mats on the dirt floors. Small smouldering fires that charred the walls and stifled the air indoors were to provide warmth and a source of heat for cooking had been nearly extinguished by the torrents that tore through the grass thatching of the roofs. We had seen a great deal of poverty and many simple dwellings in our 10 days but the level of need here was startling.
The Batwa are a people group who have been turned out of their traditional forest homes and forced to leave their ancient ways of life. They are refugees in their own country with no means for livelihood, no real government aide and no help to make a radical transition. Most are completely uneducated and all are held in contempt; alienated by the majority groups in the country. This is a people with no evident reason for hope and no resource to turn to.
My friend Evariste, an exception to the statistics, is a bright and determined young Batwa man who worked his way through the educational system, and is now a law student. Evariste is a man with a focused passion to advocate for his people and most especially to see that Batwa children receive education beyond primary (some are able to attend primary although many cannot afford to). It is his belief that true change for the Batwa will only come when the current young generation receives education and can advance in society to carve the way out for generations to come. We believe he is right. The impediments to overcome are overwhelming and change will not come quickly for this people, the hope for this tribe is education for the young people that will lead to a better future. Currently there are just 20 Batwa students in the whole country who are able to attend secondary school (grades 7-12)
Elliot (our 11 year old son who traveled with us and who we discovered to be an Excellent traveler) learned about the Batwa tribe before our trip and was struck by their situation. With the help of his own wonderful school, Three Rivers Charter School in partnership with local fine pizza establishment, Bellagio Pizza, and support from kind friends who Elliot told about the Batwa, Elliot raised over $400.00 for the Batwa.
Although the Batwa (also known as Twa or Mutwa) have no government assistance, in a nod to the situation the government made a spot in their Parliament open to a Batwa representative and authorized the formation of an official advocacy group for the Batwa “UNIPROBA” to oversee issues relating to education, health and human rights for Batwa. The dedicated leaders (including Evariste) who work for UNIPROBA do so as volunteers as there is no funding at all for them.
At the conclusion of our very informative visit to the village we returned to our house accompanied by the Batwa Parliament member and the members of UNIPROBA. Elliot made a formal presentation of the money that he raised to bring for the education of Batwa children. This ended up being an incredibly overwhelming and moving time. The leaders were deeply touched by what Elliot had done. They expressed how much they need outside help and how overlooked they feel they are. They seldom have visitors and feel that their cause is often repressed so the world will not see how bad the situation is. They feel they have no advocates and friends outside of their own. The fact that an American school boy cared to learn about them and to tell others about them and to bring this small but helpful sum deeply touched them. They each gave long speeches of appreciation to Elliot and asked him to convey their message and thanks back to those who helped him. Their eyes teared up as they affirmed his compassion and hard work on their behalf. They concluded with a traditional lively expression of appreciation that involves a chant, clapping and arms thrown out to demonstrate gratitude. The recipient (Elliot in this case) responds by holding arms open to receive the thanks and then pulling his arms back to his heart to demonstrate acceptance.
We all expressed that we were moved by the plight and by the spirit of the Batwa and saw Elliot’s gift as a significant symbol of what could happen when people care. We pledged to carry the story of the Batwa people back to tell others in hopes of sending many Batwa children to school. The current cost to send one child to school for one year is 75.00. Uniform, books and food are in addition to this. 20.00 a month would more than cover all expenses for a year including tuition.
There is also a dream to establish a school that would be a welcoming place for Batwa secondary students providing a warm, dry, safe, secure home with good regular nutrition, tutoring assistance and support for their culture (life in the existing schools is very difficult for Batwa children as they are so despised. Other children alienate them and treat them badly.) This school would welcome children from other tribes as well so that new social realities can be forged with inter tribal friendships formed and unfair biases challenged. It would house, care for and educate 40 students year round for just over 30, 000.00 USD a year.
After a solid night sleep the seven of us squeezed into Freddy’s small SUV and set out for the town of Gitega about 2.5 hrs outside of Bujumbura. This drive was breathtakingly beautiful; we took in, rich red soil contrasting sharply with the complimentary colored lush green tropical foliage, sweeping vistas, roads dotted with women dressed in brilliant fabrics trudging up long hillsides with the day’s goods balanced on their heads, young boys on bicycles hitching a ride by grasping the bumper of passing trucks, chickens and children darting here and there, hot ears of corn roasting at wayside stands (we stopped and purchased some on our ride home- as a true corn lover I had been so curious to give this local treat a try) and bright flowers and coffee shrubs with brilliant red berries flanking the roadsides. Aside from some queasy stomachs after the curvy roads and high elevation we were thrilled with this drive.
Our destination in Gitega was an orphanage sponsored by YFC. The orphanage is less than two years old and is being built in stages. The government donated 10 prime acres of land to YFC for the construction of a fully fenced complex that eventually will house 100 orphans in small home like dwellings with individual house moms. The complex will feature a school and a medical clinic, and a guest house. Currently there are three homes for orphans, one common building, a two room school house and a well with a pump system currently being built to pipe the water up the hill to eliminate the need to hand carry water and one small playground.
The hope is that each “family” of orphans can have their own cow to care for and to provide milk for the children. There is a large plot being cleared to plant a garden to raise vegetables. We delivered the three duffel bags of clothing, shoes and toys to the 19 children who currently live at the orphanage. We shared a meal together, sang and prayed together, we played with, hugged and held children. We were extremely impressed with how clean and how loving this place was. Freddy makes weekly trips out to supervise the project and to see the children. It is a model project to be sure.
Currently just two of the three houses are occupied. Once there are sponsors for more orphans another house mom can come on staff and the third house can be filled with children already on a waiting list. The cost to sponsor an orphan per month is 50.00 (once the complex is established and startup costs are not an issue the plan is to reduce sponsorship to 20.00 a month) which covers living expenses and school. This project is thoughtfully planned and was one the most well managed of any we saw in our travels. The overall goal for the orphanage is that the children will live in the same house till they are grown. They will receive a good education and plenty of love and a sense of belonging. In addition to this there is strategic intent to raise these children with strong values and leadership training in order to grow up to be potential new leaders for their country.
If anyone is prompted to help fulfill the cow dream, a healthy cow can cost between 800.00 and 1,000.00 USD. If your community would be interested in joining to buy a cow for a family of orphans, or in making the decision to sponsor an orphan, let me know. This would be a great Christmas gift.
We returned in time to clean up, take a rest and head to a festive welcoming dinner at the YFC office. A stunning drum ceremony opened the evening with handsome, athletic young Burundian men performing traditional dances and drumming for us. Amazing and really fun! A tasty dinner prepared by the YFC women along with good conversation and a chance to reconnect with my friend Gloriose, a radio broadcaster in Burundi who was part of the same working group I sat on in Uganda, finished up our very special day.
The following day we enjoyed spending with two groups of women and concluded with a celebration at the Batwa UNIPROBA headquarters in Bujumbura. Evariste gathered together the village elders and the 20 secondary students to thank us for caring about them. We met them in a small upper level office that was sweltering-ly hot and jammed packed with small bodies. When we entered the room it practically exploded with enthusiasm. Each of us were grabbed by the hands and pulled into the dancing and drumming and laughter (it was a little like a primitive mosh pit).
After the jubilant greeting the officials of UNIPROBA led us solemnly from room to room in their austere ramshackle office space (which had been donated by a friend of Batwa for short term use but the lease will expire soon) and told of the monumental odds they face in attempting to even measure, let alone meet, the needs of their people. We were quite tired and very hungry by this time in the evening but the sincere need and deep passion of these leaders held us rapt. At one point Elliot looked like he was going to completely collapse as he made his way over to me. I was sure he was coming to complain about his need for dinner (and fairly so) but he slid beside me and whispered that he felt so strongly about these needs that he wanted to give the rest of his spending money and the money he had earned and set aside for a charitable cause, to the needs of the Batwa. I told him that he would need to present the money to the Parliament member and would likely be asked to give yet another speech (he was called upon to give far more speeches than he liked on this trip).
After the tour our Batwa friends pulled out the hospitable gift and treat of warm orange Fanta soda and carried one small bowl of roasted peanuts around for refreshments. We all enjoyed munching peanuts with the Batwa. Elliot then spoke to Evariste about his desire to give the rest of his money. Evariste called the group to attention, announced Elliot, explained what Elliot had already given and invited him to speak. Elliot drew himself up to full stature and look so confident and radiant. He spoke clearly and with emotion and as he explained what he was giving. The crowd erupted and snatched Elliot off his feet throwing him into the air, then carrying him around on their shoulders chanting and laughing and cheering. What a moment.
A child shall lead them.
The evening concluded with the giving of gifts. We were touched and humbled as our new friends presented handcrafts made especially for us with our own names on them and, a very special presentation of drums to the three men in our group- Dan, Elliot and Ken.
The following morning Freddy brought a close to our short but rich stay in Burundi with a lovely breakfast overlooking the gorgeous Lake Tanganyika. We all left in great admiration of Freddy as a leader and felt extremely thankful to have had these days in Burundi.
Thank you for partnering in this adventure with us. We are extremely grateful for all of the prayers, all of the generous gifts given to bring to share with our brothers and sisters in Africa and all of the care and help in our absence.
If the helping to further the cause of the Batwa is interesting to you or if you would like to join in the effort to make a home for an orphaned child in Burundi and support them, both organizations are registered and recognized non-profits. We were highly impressed by the dedication and excellence of both groups and would be glad to tell you more.
It was a trip that surpassed our expectations, a wonderful time bonding and learning as a team and an extraordinary time of making new friends and learning more about how God is at work in this world in amazing ways. We are thankful to be home with our families and with you our friends but we all return with dreams of “next time!”
With love and appreciation,
Kelly Bean
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