Posted in Uncategorized on Feb 8th, 2011
Claude Mbarushimana, or Little Claude, as he is affectionately known around Matara and parts of Texas, is the agricultural engineer for Community For Burundi. He has been with us since the beginning… the beginning of the community development project in Matara and the beginning of his career in agriculture. Claude hired Little Claude [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 24th, 2011
We thought we would share a quick update on the progress of the students of Matara. You might recall that 28 months ago these students started a new school, a bit apprehensive about how they would be accepted by fellow students, how they would be treated by the teachers and how they would perform [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 18th, 2011
This week our friends in Matara are engaged in some forecasting. They are not searching the skies for stars to predict weather patterns. Nor are they seeking out a local animist to divine the coming events of the year. They are sitting together and considering their future.
This is not standard practice for [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 22nd, 2010
Most all the school-age children of Matara attend the elementary school just across the street from the village. This is really the first school experience for many of the children, as education has always been rough for Batwa people. These families lived so far from schools, more than walking distance, and so education [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 18th, 2010
Meet Igirubuntu, the most recent addition to the Matara community. The name means ‘God has humanity, He knows how to make someone, He has made us people / human / citizens.’ So much conveyed in the giving of a name in this season – a deep sense of pride in how God has [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 9th, 2010
In a northern province, far from Bujumbura and Matara, there is a community of Batwa. They have been experiencing trouble with their neighbors for years. But over the past set of months there has been a rash of stealing in Kayanza and it really disrupted the rural region. A few days ago, the neighbors lashed [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Sep 21st, 2010
Bahuta was there the day the Batwa men moved onto the land of Matara. He was not there to offer a word of welcome, but a word of warning. He made it known how unhappy he was with Batwa moving to Matara. He told Claude that their presence there would pollute the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 13th, 2010
Among the families that arrived to Matara in June of 2009 was Nestor. He was invited to join the newly forming community that would involve hard work, collaboration and faith in another way of doing business. However, it is hard to shake years of an old mind-set, and Nestor was raised with the [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 20th, 2010
As you know, Burundi is amid election season, this first full election cycle in many years. Thus far two of the five elections in the series have taken place, though not without controversy. Here is a summary…
In the first election, all voters were able to vote for the political party of their choice [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 10th, 2010
Yesterday was an exciting day in Matara… the beginning of soap production!
Each family in Matara has been encouraged to start a business enterprise to help generate family income. We offered a class on micro-enterprise which included things like creating a business plan, considering the market for goods, recording expenses, accounting for the [...]