Last week the Batwa families in Matara had their first harvest… potatoes! Men and women helped with the harvesting work, and you can see by the smiles that they are proud of their agricultural accomplishment. The students in the CFB house will be sharing in the bounty… keeping some of the harvest in the family. More harvesting is to come, but for now we celebrate the first one and congratulate our Batwa families.

I am recalling a passage from Isaiah, where the prophet tells of a day when you will plant crops and reap them… eat them… enjoy the fruits of your labors. A time when your harvest is yours, and does not belong to the overlord, the tyrant owner or the empire. This harvest belongs to the Batwa families, they will taste the goodness of their work. The portion of the harvest that is sold will help repay their land loan so that this land will be theirs. This is not the empires crop, this is theirs! The prophets words ring true today – once landless families are now planting, harvesting and eating their own crops. They are tasting true restoration!

And in other exciting news… the second child was born in Matara. A boy! He is called Nishimwe, which means ‘may he be thankful.’ His family hopes he will grow to be thankful to God for the goodness He has shown them. Congratulations to this sweet family!

We are celebrating with our Batwa friends in Matara. We invite you to share in their joy and thanksgiving. God is good, and these friends can taste and see His goodness, indeed!

It is Training Day in Matara – Micro-finance training, that is. This week a well-respected micro-finance trainer from the region is on site and teaching our families about the principles of micro-finance loans. He is addressing both women and men, with a keen eye on the women, who tend to be the most industrious when it comes to initiating local enterprises. He is hoping to equip them with the basic understanding required to begin a micro-finance program. Joining him is Donatien, a new member to the CFB team, who will be managing the program. The original idea was to launch this endeavor in Year Three of the project, but we have decided to move this to Year One to accelerate the opportunity to make this a self-sustaining community sooner, rather than later.

While the training on micro-finance was quite engaging… you can see that our photographer (aka Claude) gravitated toward the smaller members of the community! They seemed to be filled with smiles, giggles and a general playfulness.

Meanwhile, the crops are growing…

And the children are returning from class – because the teachers strike ended this week! (Thank you for your prayers – students in Matara and Bujumbura are excited to be back in class.)

It has been awhile since I’ve posted a story or photos. So I guess it is time for a quick update!

Matara
Things are going well in Matara these days. The crops are planted and, under the soil recently watered with rain, growing. Now Claude, our agricultural engineer, is making plans for the first harvest. We have several weeks, but we have several crops to harvest, store and get to market. As it will be a first – this means thinking of ‘how to’ as well as anticipating ‘what if.’

How can you pray for the families in Matara:
~ pray for an abundant harvest, an orderly time of harvesting and selling, and no thieves disrupting the harvest.
~ pray for health as some struggle with malaria, eye infections, back aches and such.
~ pray for deepening relationships among the families, that they will love and respect one another and care for each other. Also pray for an infusion of energy and enthusiasm to keep them working together in good spirits for the season to come!

Student House
We have an addition to the student house this term – two teachers! This husband and wife team are trained educators with experience in teaching secondary students. We have brought them on to assist the students in learning the best study habits, addressing any gaps in understanding on key subjects and advocating for them in the school system. They are also helping evaluate each student so that we can work with each one to chart a successful way forward.

Right now there is an additional challenge for our secondary students enrolled in public schools as well as those in the public primary school up country. There is a teachers strike affecting all public school teachers. No one knows how long this will last. The younger children in Matara are remaining in the village, as there are no teachers in the classrooms to teach them. As for secondary schools in Matara and Bujumbura, the students still go to class each day to study. Sometimes there is a principal around to oversee the ’study hall’ other times they just work independently. But the strike is not good for the students, slowing their progress as the weeks go by.

How can you pray for the students:
~ pray for the strike to end so all students in Burundi public schools can return to learning.
~ pray for the students to have ample energy, enthusiasm and drive to work hard on their education.
~ pray for continued health for the students, so that none will be crippled by illness as they work to further their education this term.

Thank you for praying with us for goodness to grow in Matara and at the student house in the days and weeks to come.

Matara was bustling with activity this week as children donned new uniforms and transformed into students. A short walk from the village and they will be sitting in their new classrooms ready to learn.

Primary students and secondary students, boys and girls – all eager and a bit nervous to begin a new school year. Will the other kids like me? Will the teacher call on me? Will I understand the letters she puts on the chalkboard? The first day of school is always filled with such questions. But we are excited that our students get to walk to class together giggling and proudly carrying their new backpacks filled with freshly sharpened pencils and notebooks, and they get to learn!

The first child born in Matara is a sweet baby girl! She was born on August 24th, and this picture was taken of her when she was a mere 4 days old. Her parents named her Iribuka, which means ‘God remembers.’ They said, ‘Here in Matara, we know that God remembers us.’ Iribuka is the fourth child born into this family.

There are about a dozen other women who are expecting… so a Batwa baby boom is on the way! New life coming to Matara, how exciting is this!!!

In less than three months, the Batwa families have made Matara their home. In less than three months they have built homes, constructed the bulk of 15 latrines, relocated their families and forged friendships with their neighbors. But what I found most amazing when I was in Matara this week, is the sheer volume of agricultural work the Batwa have done in under three months. The hard work and progress astounded me and left me with an incessant smile as we moved across the land, up and down the hill and around the property line.

Above you can see the strata of progress. The soil in the foreground is the land just prepared for potatoes seeds. It is on a hillside, and the land was recently softened by a nocturnal rain, making it ready for clearing. They also dug an irrigation channel to keep the water coming to the crop. Down in the valley you can see the crops that have been planted and are already showing hints of green. More potatoes and some cabbage. Across the valley, on the far off hillside, you can see that they are in the final stages of clearing the land and making it ready for more potatoes! But this picture does not tell the full story… there are crops all around the base of the hills. Carrots, cabbage, corn and… so many potatoes!

Claude (our agricultural engineer) took Claude on a tour of the land, showcasing all the work.

He was eager to show us the spot where the cabbage seedlings were incubated, gently cared for until they are ready to transplant in the fields.

Meanwhile the women are preparing the field for the cabbage, all working side by side. They are as cheerful and they are colorful, and you can hear their laughter fill the valley as they wielded the hoes and moved the dirt.

They have already accomplished so much…

Carrots are growing here… we hope this will be another cash crop to benefit the community.

Today the men are bringing in more supplies for the construction of the latrines.

So much progress, and so many fields of green! So many reasons to applaud our Batwa families and their efforts thus far.

It rained in Matara this week. This is the first rain since the families moved onto the land, the first rain that found them with weather-proof homes to retreat to while the rain poured down. The families all remained dry during the rain… a first for them!

In other villages where they came from, like Bubanza, the grass huts were no protection from the rains. There was no where they could go to escape the wetness, the cold, the downpour. Everything they had would end up drenched, including their children. When rains came, I always thought of the Batwa friends and said a prayer. I knew they were so vulnerable and without protection. But this rain… I smiled knowing our friends in Matara has shelter that would keep all the families dry!

It is a drop of good news…

Our friends in Matara are keeping busy these days. Let me just show a bit of what they’ve been up to in the past couple of weeks…

The land receives good attention as the Batwa friends are preparing it for cultivation. You can see the squares of land, allowing room for irrigation once the seeds are planted.

This woman is hard at work preparing her own land. There is satisfaction that she is working for her own family, and not consigned to another’s field or another’s crop. Soon she will see the fruits of her labors!

The men are carrying supplies up the hill, along with children on their hip, for the current construction project. The 30 temporary homes are all complete. Now they are working on 15 communal latrines.

They dig, line the holes with bricks (which have been carried up the hill), then a layer of cement… All part of the construction of permanent latrines. I am told that another benefit of these latrines… future fertilizer for the crops. Nothing is wasted…

At long last the potato seeds arrived! You cannot imagine how hard it was to locate and procure these seeds! It is not as simple as just going to the local nursery… But after a few attempts we found the right source for good seed. The potatoes will be the first crop planted. This will be a communal crop. A small percentage will remain in Matara for the families to enjoy, but the bulk will go to market to bring some income for the village. Claude, our on-site agricultural engineer, will be spending this week teaching the Batwa about the planting and tending involved in potato cultivation. This is just the beginning of our agriculture adventure, you might say it is small potatoes . (I could not resist!)

Claude noted that in his most recent visit he observed a good spirit among the Batwa. There seemed to be a levity among them, bright countenances and more laughter. They are seeing, already, that their labor is producing good things for their families. They are finding satisfaction in their work, finally seeing with their eyes how this village will become life-giving for them. It takes time for new realities to materialize, for our imaginations to conceive of a new set of possibilities and our hearts to believe that such goodness can come to us. But our Batwa friends seem to see that a new future is possible for them – and they are cheerful as they work together toward the new thing God is doing among them!

I am sure that as I type, they are planting potato seeds. So the Batwa are keeping busy and whistling as they work, or so it seems!

Community for Burundi is celebrating the graduation of our first two students! Join us in congratulating Evariste and Yves on completing their secondary education. They are now part of an elite group of Batwa… high school graduates.

Yves

Evariste

The very first day in Burundi, the very first meeting, the very first friend…I want to tell you my story.

I was a little bit anxious. I am a very introverted person, social networking and making conversations with strangers is not my strong suit. But I had been praying and preparing for this mission trip for months. I had the names and information about 2 students, Dieudonne and Lyduine. I had been praying for them by name. I was looking forward to meeting them for the very first time. Before I went to the dining area, I said a quick prayer, “Lord, help me to know where to sit. Put me at the right table with the people you want me to talk to.” I chose a table and sat at the head of it so I could see the whole room from my chair. Within a few minutes a very nicely dressed man came and sat next to me. On the other side of the table sat a translator prepared to help us have a conversation. I don’t remember who spoke first. But his smile was so warm and engaging; I couldn’t help but feel at ease. He told me his name was Sylvestre and I said my name was Jana. I asked him about his family. He shared that he had 6 children. He told me their ages and which were girls and which were boys. I asked him what his hopes were for his children. He proudly shared what they were studying in school and what they would do when they graduated. He asked about my family and I told him I had 3 children, 2 boys and a girl. My boys happened to be the same age as two of his children, so we had much in common. Soon lunch was over and it was time to watch the Burundian drummers perform. Using gestures and smiles, I encouraged him to sit next to me as we watched the performances. What a surprise it was to me when they announced that the students were here to greet us and perform a ceremonial dance! As the students were standing near the pavilion, my translator, Aloys, leaned over and said, “That boy in the striped shirt is Sylvestre’s oldest son.” I spotted the boy, but we didn’t make eye contact. After the ceremonial dance was over, the students started grabbing the Texans and inviting us to dance on the beach. It was then that I met my students, Lyduine and Dieudonne, face to face. To my amazement and great joy, the boy in the striped shirt was MY STUDENT! Dieudonne was Sylvestre’s son! It’s no surprise to me that God had that planned from the beginning.

Later that afternoon during tea time, Sylvestre came and found me. He shared with me that when he and I talked at lunch he was very touched. He felt a connection between us, mother to father, both sharing our pride and hopes for our children. I told him it was just the beginning of a lifetime long friendship between two families.

I will always remember Sylvestre as my very first Mutwa friend. He has and his family hold a special place in my heart. I shall never forget them.