Burundi with Food for the Hungry

Burundi is in central Africa and borders Rwanda, Tanzania and the DRC. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and has a population of 12.5 million.

Bujumbura is the capital city and the Mwumba community is based in Ngozi, in the north of the country.

FH Burundi office is based in Bujumbura, the capital and Jerry Kazadi is the Head of Mission in the country. We spent a couple of hours there on our first morning before heading to Ngozi in the north of the country.

We had a three and a half hour drive to Nglozi. There’s always so much to see when driving around Burundi! People are everywhere and it’s amazing what can be carried on a bike… a cow! The roads in parts seemed better since my last visit.

Once we had arrived in Ngozi we went to meet the Governor. When visiting a province, it’s customary to visit the Governor and explain why you are there. He was incredibly friendly and really interested in the work of FH and our reasons for being there. It was also clear how proud he was of his job and his love for Ngozi.

Saturday was our first day visiting the Mwumba community. As soon as you leave the main roads and enter Mwumba, the roads change dramatically! They are red dirt tracks and are incredibly uneven.

The purpose of our visit was to visit Gihama School and the staff. I knew we’d get a lovely welcome, but I wasn’t expecting the dancing, singing and drumming as we approached the school! It was amazing, there was music and joy everywhere! It was the community’s way of saying thank you. As we were shown to our seats, and different representatives spoke, it was evident that they were so grateful for all the support that they had received and were so proud of what they had achieved as a school community.

Once their welcome presentation was over, we were able to look around the school and had a meeting with the Headteacher, other teachers and representatives from the school. Before FH came to Gihama, it was just a hill, and children would have to travel a long way to school. Now a new school has been built with 9 classrooms and an admin office. They used to have to walk one and a half hours to get water, now they have two tanks of water and a water point. They have been provided with desks and equipment and the staff and FH team have worked with parents about the importance of children staying at school.

On Sunday we had the privilege of visiting a Burundi church. We were split into groups and our group visited the Eglise des Amis (Friends church) at Kabasazi Hill. I had an idea of what to expect from my last visit, however I was still taken by surprise.

The greeting we got was so welcoming. We entered to the sound of drums, whistles being blown, people dancing, praising and worshipping God. There was so much joy there! Even though we didn’t understand what we were singing, we knew that we were all worshipping the same God. We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and to pray over the church.

We all felt so blessed by going there. It’s so wonderful that we can worship the same God in churches all over the world!

We then had lots of fun playing games and singing with them. It’s amazing that despite the language barrier, the children were able to play and have a wonderful time. Their faces said it all, they were beaming!

We then met with the Headteacher, Vincent who explained more about the school. There are 1006 children in the school, 917 in the primary and 89 in the middle school. Children come from very poor families. There has been a 2.3% drop out this year which is mostly due to sickness and poverty. There are 18 classrooms and 72 children in each class! There are 18 latrines but that is not enough for all the children in the school.

They are very grateful to FH who have provided teaching materials and have worked with teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the school. 

We met a teacher called Florence who explained about the Let’s Learn to Read programme. This is an initiative which FH started and encourages and helps children to learn to read. She said that before they started this programme, P1, which is Reception class could read one word at a time.

Now they are reading short paragraphs and using the reading techniques they have been taught. It was so encouraging to hear Florence’s story.

We had the opportunity to meet three lead farmers. Many of the farmers are now practicing Climate smart agriculture. This is Amida. She is 52 years old and is one of 5 lead farmers on the hill. Her and her husband decided to join the FH farming organisation as they were really struggling and had very little income. They had good teaching about Farming God’s Way and they started to practise what they were taught.

At first, they had a small plot which then produced a good harvest. They were then encouraged to rent other plots which they grew, and they had tons of maize and crops!

Very sadly last year her husband died. She had no choice but to continue with his work. She sold her cow, bought new land and her crops were really successful. She is so grateful for FH and their support.

She is now a trainer and trains other farmers. She really is an inspirational lady who empowers many other women in her community.

This is Arian. She is one of a group of people who demonstrated to us how to make heat compost. She told us how hard it was for her and her family before using heat composting as she had to pay for manure. Since using it, her maize has now increased from 200kg – 700kg!

We met with several leaders from the hills of the Mwumba community. It was wonderful to hear from each of them. They are so proud of the changes that have taken place over the last 10 years and are committed to continuing the work once FH leave. Their children are learning from them, and they want to preserve and protect what they have achieved.

Another highlight for me was listening to a group of children reading from the ‘Let’s learn together’ program. This is run by parent volunteers and encourages children to read out loud together. The children were so proud to stand in front of us sharing their book and it was a real privilege to listen to them.

Graduation Day was an opportunity for the Mwumba community to celebrate what they had achieved since FH had been there. I had an idea of what to expect as I had been to one on my last visit. This was extra special though as the Trust had been supporting Mwumba for the last 5 years. As we approached the marquee where the celebration was taking place, we were greeted to the sound of the most enthusiastic and energetic drummers I have ever seen! Lots of dignitaries had been invited plus community and church leaders, teachers and FH staff.

We were treated to a range of masterpieces! Children sang, danced, one boy spoke in English, telling us what he had achieved. Ladies danced and sang. There was even a dramatization of a husband who was an alcoholic who would beat up his wife, and how FH had worked alongside him and helped him to change his ways. We heard some wonderful speeches from various people from FH, the Governor representatives and members of the village. At the end we all had the opportunity to dance alongside them, it was so fun!

As we drove away from the celebration, I was praying that the good work that has been done here will continue for generations and generations to come. The Mwumba community should be so proud of everything they have achieved.

Even though the Mwumba community have graduated from FH, it is reassuring to know that FH will continue to partner with them for the next year, to ensure that what has been achieved is sustainable.

We have so much to learn from the Mwumba community. Their sense of joy, gratitude for every blessing they receive, their willingness to work together, in the belief that collectively, they are stronger. They have such an incredible sense of community, resilience and faithfulness in adversity. What an inspirational trip!