“I have always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: it robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.”

Chimananda Adichie makes a stunning statement about how we engage with others. Through her own story she encourages us, maybe even exhorts us, to engage with many stories to form a more true picture of a place or a person. When we can hear many stories about a person – he is a farmer, a father, a Batwa man and a person of great joy and humor – we will know him better. When we observe the many stories of a place – Burundi is one of the poorest nations on earth, it has suffered a tragic civil war in the past, it sits on the edge of picturesque Lake Tanganyika and it has some of the best food in the region – we have a more accurate sense of this place that is home to our friends.

Too often we have a very flat understanding – seeing only the poverty of a person or the broken places of a society. Such a stereotype, as Adichie points out, is not only untrue, it is incomplete. You are coming to a place with dimension and people who live in full color! You have the opportunity to see them more fully and embrace the variety of stories that reveal who they are as people and friends. You are coming to Burundi to develop a more complete picture, and as such, a truer one.

You are invited to Burundi to meet our Batwa friends. Part of the invitation is to come and hear the many stories of the Batwa people, to hear the many stories of Burundi today. In doing so, you will restore dignity to the people and place of Burundi. You will have ‘a balance of stories’ that reflect the truth of this land.

Claude and I look forward to sharing time together in the coming days! We are excited to present the many stories of Burundi and its people to you so that you can have the most complete sense of this amazing land!

Claude and I eagerly await your arrival…

Communityfor friends and partners,

First, our apologies for the lack of updates. We’re working to better integrate our blogs and website, and we’re beginning our new Directors’ Video Blog, to be updated from around the world. From now on, you can read weekly updates here, on this blog, until our video blog is live.

 

Secondly, we’re happy to promote photographer Jamie Kercher’s recent photo show, We Are Batwa, which has now shown in Santa Barbara, CA. Kercher accompanied us this summer to Africa, beginning in South Africa at the Amahoro Gathering, then during our Batwa celebration in Burundi. She’s since compiled an incredible collection of narrative portraits, accompanied by quotes from the Batwa themselves, our Country Directors in Burundi, and others.All proceeds from the show benefited Communityfor, and we’re working with Kercher to bring it to other cities, including Los Angeles and Houston. So, please stay tuned for updates. We’ll also have her accompanying video, which contains many of the photographs, online soon. Stay tuned!

Sydneyann Binion & David Shook

Directors, Communityfor 

 Monday 15 June 2009

First, a confession. I grew up the son of Baptist missionaries in Latin America, often translating for short-term missions team members on sacrificial mini-vacations, employing rote evangelism techniques and ignoring the physical needs of those they intended to serve. The celebration that will soon begin is different. Its participants do have an agenda, but that agenda is significantly different than those we’re accustomed to associating with cross-cultural engagement on behalf of the church. That agenda is the making of friends, the building of relationships.

In just a few hours thirty Texan suburbanites will arrive in Bujumbura, Burundi, via Nairobi via Amsterdam, arriving close to forty hours after they left. And so begins their celebration of friendship, with a few hours of sleep.

Tomorrow afternoon forty-two Batwa men and women will arrive at Hotel Club du Lac, on the white-sand shore of Lake Tanganyika. The Batwa are Burundi’s indigenous population, oppressed since at least the migration of the Hutus to the region at the turn of the first millennium. Formerly called pygmies, a term they now reject, the Batwa live subsistence lifestyles, growing meager crops and making traditional pots on government land, susceptible to the sudden whims of the Burundian political machine, which moves them often.

In socio-cultural terms, the two communities could hardly be more different. In some zip codes of Cypress, Texas, over forty percent of the population earns greater than $100,000 per year. An entire Batwa family is lucky to clear $3 in a week. Burundi’s inundation with cheap, imported plastic pots has devalued their primary source of income, so that a Mutwa potter might now earn $.30 for a pot one foot in diameter, that takes nearly an entire week to make. Cypress residents are almost uniformly educated through the university level. So far, only two Batwa students have completed their undergraduate degrees. The Texans enjoy golfing and shopping in their spare time; Batwa workers are routinely jailed by their employers—not having committed any crime—because it is a cheaper alternative to the paycheck.

The gospel that promises an afterlife mansion on a gold cul-de-sac is as compelling to the Batwa as a pair of free rollerblades for a cripple. It’s easy to forget Christ’s good news to the poor when that news might make us question our own sense of wellbeing. These Texans are taking those risks. They’re entering—together with their Batwa counterparts—the process of mutual transformation. In uniting these two communities we invite cultural struggle for both parties. We open ourselves to the possibilities of misunderstanding, of discomfort, of shame, and at the same time, of beauty, of love, and of brotherhood.

If we are the church then their work is more valuable than spending a week abroad repainting a parsonage. If we are the church we will grow stronger as our relationships deepen, as we grow in awareness of our own and exposure to others’ worldviews, lifestyles, and faiths. If we are the church we should not operate according to the imperialist tendencies of the world, to the systems that oppress and marginalize, or to the false charity of the guilty rich.

I believe we are the church.

How then should we operate? I believe that the God’s Kingdom operates by different mechanisms than the power systems of this world, whether that means feeding multitudes with five fish or making space for relationships to grow between two of the world’s most diverse communities. I believe that a genuine friendship between two communities, one outside our usual power systems of domination and benefaction, is a sign of the Kingdom of God.

I praise God for the willingness of both communities to engage in a real friendship, based not on money or moral appeasement, but on our commonality as children of an awesome king.

Please pray for our Batwa Celebration. For the travelers from Texas and from throughout Burundi. For our facilitators, translators, and speakers. For our vulnerability, for our mutual compassion, for our cross-cultural reconciliation.

A guest post by Communityfor Burundi Committee Member and Burundian Parliamentarian, the Honorable Etienne Ndayishimiye:

It all started last May when I was attending The Gathering in Kigali, Rwanda, hosted by Amahoro Africa, with many friends from around the world.

During The Gathering, I was given the opportunity to share the story of the Batwa people of Burundi in general and my story in particular.  I took that opportunity to invite some of my new friends to come and visit one of the Batwa villages in my home country of Burundi.

Days later, I had the privilege of taking friends from Community of Faith to one of our villages in the province of Bubanza, about 45 minutes away from the capital city of Bujumbura. This visit was unique because something happened in the lives of the friends who came from COF and our lives in village.

We danced, shared and dreamed together as if we had known each other for a very long time. We knew that God had brought us together for a much bigger purpose than just a usual visit of people who are just curious to see how Batwa live, how short they are and how far can poverty take a community of human beings. A beautiful friendship was born between this community from Texas and the untouchables, the Batwa of Burundi.

Few months later, those friends suggested that I attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. and visit with the community of our friends in Texas. From the day I received that invitation to the day I came back to Burundi, I could not find words to express how happy I was. It was so obvious that everyone kept asking me why I couldn’t stop smiling.

Few weeks later, I was on the plane to Washington DC, it was a smooth trip – and my first trip on a plane and beyond Africa. My very good friend David Shook was at the airport to welcome me to this amazing and somewhat strange country.

From that point on, friends surrounded me for the entire time I was in the USA. My American experience was an amazing one.  It was so cold (not so much amazing but certainly an experience) and there was snow – like rice coming from heaven except that no one can eat this rice!  I saw huge roads, I think they call them freeways (even though they seem to have many laws on how to drive on those, things like speed limitation, etc.). If those roads are free, I wonder what we should call ours, where there are no regulations and everyone drives the way the want!

I could go in more details of my experience but I think the most significant thing that I want to talk about is the time spent with friends and the new friends that the introduced me to.  My time in DC was filled with amazing friendships being born, reinforced and many, many stories shared.

One highlight was the time spent with my Amahoro friends both in Baltimore and in the hotel suite in Washington, DC. Words will certainly fail me as I try to explain this experience, as a Twa person, to feel that much love and care from such important people.  It was overwhelming to say the least! My friend Pam introduced me to her friends from California and I was able to share with them the Batwa experience and I had an incredible response from those 50 plus people who listened to me for a long time.

I was introduced to important leaders from over 20 countries but I think of the most significant time in DC was the time I spend with another Burundian. A very rich businessman, from the elite tribe of Burundi who under no circumstance could sit down and eat, talk and be seen with a member of the Batwa in Burundi.

God did something special in my heart and the heart of my new friend, Prosper. I know it is hard for most people in the West to understand why is it special when two leaders from the same country sit down and share stories and a meal as friends! The Batwa people of Burundi are like the untouchables of Burundi. As an outcast, to have one of the societal elite hang out with me, share his heart, his dreams and show love and compassion toward me and the people I represent was unprecedented. My friendship with Prosper was made possible by this trip but has not stopped there. I see this new friendship as the beginning of a long journey of reconciliation.

The other amazing thing of course was to be as close as I was to President Obama on the day of the Prayer Breakfast. I don’t understand the American politics and if Obama will be a good or bad president, but what’s exciting about Obama for us Africans is that he is Black, and most importantly, his father was a direct son of Africa. So to have a real African as president of the ‘world’ is not a small thing. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was there also, wow, what a treat for me to be there and so close to them!  They both shared their journeys of following Jesus, forgiveness and reconciliation. It’s a new day in the world.

On the evening of the Prayer Breakfast, I was invited to have a private dinner with a Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Inhofe.  I told the Senator that when he visited Burundi last year, I wasn’t allow to be anywhere close to him but today in America, I am having a private dinner with him in one of the most amazing restaurants that I have ever been in.

The day after The Prayer Breakfast, I started a journey that took me to Houston, Texas, where my good friends Laura and Mark Shook, leaders of Community of Faith, overwhelmingly received me. They told me to feel at home in their house.  No one had ever told me this, or showed me as much love and care as Mark and Laura did. David Shook, my friend, and his wife were amazing hosts. When I couldn’t find anything familiar to eat, Sydneyann made a wonderful meal for me that felt more familiar.

When I arrived at the Church on Saturday night, I was very blessed again in the way I was received. I really loved my time at the church in fellowship with thousands of people, their gifts of Texas cowboy boots and hat were overwhelming. Every time I wear them here in Burundi and people are curious to know where I got them, it’s an opportunity to talk about my friends in Texas and an amazing weekend we had together.

The time I spent at the Church reminded me of Paul’s words to the Ephesians (6:14 – 17). Thank you so much for your hospitality, your love for the Batwa and all native people around the world, thank you for the gifts and the many laughs.

The reception in my honor on Saturday night was a time I will never forget. I was able to share the Batwa stories, meet with the friends who are planning to come to be with us as we celebrate the progress the Batwa are making in Burundi and build on our friendships.

It was a really humbling experience to see those friends listen attentively to Batwa stories, to see them cry because of our pain, sharing our pain …this I had never experienced and my heart was blessed by it.

It was my privilege to share about Communityfor Burundi and what we are trying to achieve and I was able to thank the Church for all the support we are getting from them.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Community of Faith for giving me the opportunity to visit USA and learn so much during my visit.  I am one of those who believe that sustainable solutions for the Batwa will come from the Batwa themselves, so trips like that helps me understand that and enables me to articulate some of the solutions that could be helpful. Please keep praying for us as we seek to move forward as a people.

I would like to thank everyone who worked hard and made it possible for me to share the Batwa story with so many people in the USA.  Thank you for nine days I will never forget!

May God bless you and keep you!

Etienne Ndayishimiye

Communityfor friend Mbusa Thaluliba, from Goma, sent the following update from the Congo, including quotes from Baraka Makari, an 11-year-old boy:

“I am a schoolboy in Standard 5 at Buhumba Primary School. We were at school with my two younger sisters [ages 7 and 9] and other comrades. After break, we heard gunshots. We then moved to Goma. Our parents were in the field and until today we don’t know where they are. Maybe they are still alive, or they have been killed.”

And from Manishimwe Semiera, a 12-year-old girl:

”I am the second girl in a family of four. I have never been at school. I was attending a church service when the shootings approached our village of Rugari. I run to our home, where I found nobody. I do not know where my mother went; she is a widow because my father died in the confrontations of last year. I followed the moving crowd until arriving in Goma. I spent  two nights  in the market commonly called Kisoko in Majengo district. I praise the Lord because a young man saw me begging at the market and  brought me here to this IDP Unaccompanied Children Camp called  Rev. Senzoga’s Camp.”

And from Paluku Lukando, a 13-year-old former schoolboy of Bujari Primary School in the Kilimanyoka area:

“Having heard the gunshots, I fled from home. My parents were not there any more. I went directly to the destination of Goma. When I arrived Pastor Senzoga met me from Virunga Parish and led me to his home where I am still living. I felt comforted by finding other children of my village. We play together and we endeavour to forget the past”

Many more such stories could be told.

Mbusa reminds us that Jesus said, “Let children come to me,” and that the Kingdom of God belongs to them.

I’ve extracted the most pertinent information from Mbusa’s update to share with you, as you continue to pray for the situation in the Congo.

For almost a year, the heavy fighting has been launched by the dissident General Laurent Nkunda has torn apart the North Kivu province.  According to the statistics at hand from OCHA, the number of IDP has gone to 1,200,000 people (September 2008)

The situation is worse in the Masisi and Rutshuru Administrative territories of the North Kivu Province, where Laurent Nkunda and his troops are officially based and where troubles occur frequently. This situation is the root of the establishment of  IDP camps in Masisi, Rutshuru, and Lubero Territories.
In Rutshuru, on the nights of  4 – 5 November more than 200 young people were reported slaughtered by the rebels; many women and girls raped  by both rebels and militia groups and many people are traumatized because they either saw their relatives slaughtered or their daughters, their mothers, their sisters raped in their presence. They are in hosting families or in camps or in church and school buildings and they need emotional treatment.

The Batwa are being misplaced and scattered in camps because the fighting is taking place in the forests where they live. But since they are a unique people with unique lifestyle, life is difficult in the camps.

Three days ago, the fighting has resumed between the Congolese loyal forces and Laurent Nkunda’s troops. This last development affected many other villages and towns that were until then stable. These new IDPs are moving from one place to another and are in desperate  situation. Their lives are in danger for lack of water, food and shelter.

Please continue to pray for peace. Specifically pray for water and food supplies in the displacement camps.

From now on, I will post regular updates about the situation in the Congo, so that you can keep our Congolese friends in your prayers. Claude Nikondeha, Country Director for Burundi, reports:

Conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken the lives of 5.4 million people since 1998 and continue to leave as many as 45,000 dead every month, according to a 2008 mortality survey released by United Nations.

The Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly called Zaire), and hasn’t ended to this date. The largest war in modern African history, it directly involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. By 2008 the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation, making the Congo War the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II. Millions more have been displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.

Despite a formal end to the war in July 2003 and an agreement by the former belligerents to create a government of national unity, thousands of people continue to die daily from easily preventable cases of malnutrition, disease and of course all the on-going military fighting.

Today most victims of this conflict are women and children and here you will read a sobering summary of the horror taking place.

CommunityFor is hoping that you will join the people of Congo this week and the weeks to come and share this prayer voiced by the Archbishop of Congo; Archbishop Fidèle Dirokpa:

“O God of peace and abundant life,
You call peacemakers your children.
Let your Holy Spirit guide and govern all those who are making peace in Congo,
and give them success,
So that all your people may have that abundant life promised through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God in Holy Trinity. Amen.”

If you want to get involved in what’s happening in the Congo, please visit Raise Hope.

Yesterday I received an email from some of our partners in Haiti, who were happy to share that they have successfully installed a solar-powered egg incubation system.

Walter Dort and Raymond Nacius pastor the Christian Church of Croix-des-Bouquets. Together with their wives Marie and Guerda, they work to address the material as well as spiritual needs of their community. They have a special love for children, who know the church for its generosity toward them.

In August, Walter and Raymond traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, to learn from Communityfor Appropriate Technology Facilitator Kerry Johnson. While in Oaxaca they spent time in indigenous Zapoteco and Mixteco villages, and Kerry soon realized that the locals loved to listen to the Haitians explain the very concepts that they were learning themselves.

One of the most important things needed in Croix-des-Bouquets is sanitary water, and Walter and Raymond learned to dig wells with a hand drill, to pump water, and to purify it so it can be safely consumed.

Walter and Raymond also learned about egg incubation, something they hope to eventually use to earn income for their church while providing food for the community. This week they completed the installation of a solar panel to power the incubator, and Walter traveled across Haiti to buy twelve eggs.

Raymond on his roof with the solar panel.

Wiring the incubator.

A few of the eggs themselves.

Appropriate Technology Facilitator Kerry Johnson will soon post a primer on egg incubation on his Oaxaca blog. In the meantime, pray that these eggs will successfully hatch and be multiplied! I’ll keep you updated . . .

It has been a crazy few weeks for Communityfor, with trips to Oaxaca, Houston, Honduras, Costa Rica, and even a few hours in Panama! I apologize for not having updated in so long.

This week I’ve been working with  our Country Directors to develop a catalogue of potential gifts for each of our communities. Our idea is to de-objectify monetary donations, so that supporters like you can better grasp the humanity of their donations. In the near future, for example, you will be able to contribute a specific amount toward the education of a Batwa student or an egg incubation project in rural Oaxaca. You can then watch your gift in action, by following the stories our Country Directors are sharing on their blogs and on our website. You will have the opportunity to meet our friends and partners around the world, as we work to support them in achieving their dreams. Continue Reading »

Welcome to the Communityfor International Director’s Blog, where I, David Shook, will keep you informed of things happening on my side of our work together. I hope that this blog can become a true venue of conversation, as we discuss our values, hopes, and dreams for partnerships within our local community and throughout the world.