As we have been here working alongside the Batwa, we are progressing day by day on the community development project. We have recently been learning more about the families that the Batwa Committee has selected to participate in this new village. There are 34 families that have been invited to join this enterprise. These families have 130 children among them! Of those children only 30 are currently in elementary school. The good news is that Matara is near a local school, walking distance from the village. So we hope to see more of them enter school once they resettle in their new home.

This week Claude, Etienne and Evariste have been going to Matara almost daily to prepare the land for resettlement. Each time they go, they take Batwa volunteers to assist in the work of clearing the land for the homes and roads. This is what we they call ’sweat equity.’ Each time the Batwa friends are so stunned by the new land they are moving to – lush and green, with water and vegetation. It is unlike any move they have made before! They seem to gladly work for hours knowing they are investing in their own future, a better future than they imagined.

They first cross a river and then hike up the front of the hill, winding around to the site of the future village. Once there, it is time to continue the work of clearing the land for homes. First there will temporary homes built so that the families can relocate to Matara in early June. Once they are on-site, we can begin building the permanent homes a little at a time. They will also begin to plant crops and reap the harvest!

While they work, there are times of talking about the new life they are entering and the expectations as well as possibilities ahead. This is part of the slow and steady work of educating the Batwa friends on what this new village is all about, and how this land will become theirs with work, care and partnership.

Then they come down the hill after a day of hard work. They all pile into a car, drive toward the city and usually stop to share a brochette and fanta together before returning home. They are already becoming friends!

The other work afoot right now is the preparation for The Celebration in June. The Batwa Committee is working hard to be ready to receive the friends from Community of Faith. They are visiting villages, scouting out guest houses, working on their presentations and other details. So this is a season when we are preparing for a relocation, for a visitation and all the blessings the summer months bring!