Secret Servants

Students at GIA have been studying the book of James in their Bible classes. Inspired by the section that talks about faith and works, a plan was made so that they could put their studies into action, taking part in acts of service without rewards or credit.

One Saturday morning, class 9B left the gates of GIA and climbed onto the bus. They bounced their way along the road until they reached Gitega Homes of Hope. The children were in school, in their normal Saturday study session, so the GIA students entered the compound almost unnoticed.

Once inside, they were split up into small groups and put to work sorting rice and beans for the children’s lunch.

Rice and beans in Burundi are bought in large sacks which need to be sorted and cleaned before cooking. If rice is taken from the sack and cooked straight away, you are likely to get a mouthful of dirt and gravel along with the rice. Sorting the rice and beans is just one of the many time-consuming and thankless tasks that the House Mothers and helpers do everyday to provide food for the children. This day they had the rare treat of a morning off, whilst the GIA students did the work for them.

 

Once the rice and beans were sorted, the students cleaned the houses and performed a variety of other household tasks before the children returned from school.

Once finished, the students returned to GIA, excited and enthusiastic about their adventure, having learned for themselves the rewards that come from serving others, with no expectation of credit or payment.

 "Religion that pleases the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil."

- James 1:27 

Cibitoke bakery, and steps towards sustainability...

Standing in the simple doorway, the first thing that hits me is the wonderful smell of baking bread. I stand still for a moment and breathe in deeply, even from this distance I can feel the incredible heat coming from the ovens which take up the majority of the room. The remaining space is occupied by various workers. One is carefully arranging the uncooked dough loaves into lines on flat baking trays, his fingers sprinkling fine flour dust into the air. Another is braving the heat of the oven, removing the cooked bread and placing the new loaves in the oven as part of an efficient production line.

In another corner, a man stands stirring a huge pan of hot oil over a flame, where hundreds of ibitumbura (fried balls of dough, local doughnuts) are bobbing about and sizzling a golden brown.

The bakery is an exciting hive of industry, and it’s even more exciting to see how the children in the Homes of Hope and the Future Hope School in Cibitoke have benefited from the addition of bread to their diets. We have a similar bakery in Gitega, which has also made a huge difference. Children who used to come to school hungry, now get fed mid-morning, and their grades have improved now that they are not studying on an empty stomach.

Even better, surplus bread and ibitumbura are sold in Cibitoke town and generate an income to support the projects. It’s a win-win holistic mission. We’re providing skills-training and a livelihood for those working in the bakery, we’re providing food for the children in our care, and we’re taking steps towards sustainability from the income we generate in town.

Full self-sustainability is still a long way off, but this is a very encouraging step in the right direction.

Christmas Celebrations

As the bus pulled up outside the beach resort, the doors opened to allow a rolling mass of overexcited children tumble over each other in their haste to get out and look around. The two hour journey from Cibitoke to Bujumbura had been mostly uneventful, and now the children were eager to see the lake they had heard so much about.

As we walked through the resort towards the beach, the sun shining down brightly, it was great to see the children's expressions as they finally caught sight of the huge stretch of water, many of them for the first time.









The children had a lot of fun running around on the sand, playing with the balls and bats we had brought with us, and then taking turns on the slides and swings. Just before lunch, we let them go in the water, their laughter contagious as they splashed around in the shallows. It was hilarious watching the difference between some of the younger children who ran backwards away from the waves in fear, and some of the older children who plunged into the water fully clothed, loving the feel of the cool water in the hot sun.



For lunch, we sat the children down and gave them a packed meal of delicious food with Fantas as a special treat. All the children and House mothers had a great time, and the children will be talking about their special day at the beach for a long time to come.



A few days after Christmas, Gitega Homes of Hope had their Christmas celebration. They decided to stay local, and took all the children to the beautiful green lawns of a friendly nearby hotel. At first the children enjoyed playing freely, some on the swings, others with the footballs, hula hoops and a giant inflatable beach ball.

A little while later, many games and competitions were arranged for the children, including egg and spoon races, relay races, balancing baskets on their heads, and a sack race. All the children enjoyed cheering each other on, and everyone laughed when the adults joined in too.





The children had a special packed lunch with lots of treats, and they all got balloons to play with. On the way home, we stopped off at the Big Tree in Gitega, the tree that marks the centre of Gitega, the centre of Burundi, and some would say, the centre of Africa.
The kids had a wonderful time, and it was a great opportunity for the new arrivals at Homes of Hope to join in a special event with their new families.

Burundi Youth for Christ Video

Many thanks to Josh Guenther for creating this amazing video about the work of Burundi Youth for Christ.
Check it out below...

Thank you Modeste!

Modeste is an engineer who has been working with Burundi YFC for several years. He lived in Gitega and helped us construct Future Hope School. When that was completed he moved to the Cibitoke project to help us construct the orphans' Houses, Future Hope School and medical clinic there. As these projects near completion, it's now time for him to move on again. This time to our newest project, a potential Future Hope School in Makamba.

Modeste was incredibly good with the kids in Cibitoke Homes of Hope, and they love him very much. He will be missed, but the new project is exciting too. The children had a 'Leaving Party' for Modeste, they decorated the room with streamers by themselves, and took time to share the things they loved about him.

One story that came up frequently was the way he gave kids rides on his motorbike.

The Homes of Hope children live opposite their school, barely 20 metres away, so obviously they walk there every morning. Modeste noticed that some of the children were getting upset watching parents drop their children off at school by motorbike, knowing that that would never happen for them. One day Modeste took all the children across to the school on his motorbike, giving them a ride round the courtyard to extend the journey. It took several trips to bring them all across and give them all a ride, but they were so excited and talked about it for weeks.

After the party, the children gathered around to pray for Modeste. It was very touching... as one little boy prayed:

"Thank you God for Modeste, that he built us a clinic, so one day when there's doctors there, we can go there when we're sick."

God Bless you Modeste... We will miss you in Cibitoke, but there are exciting things yet to come!

Interview: G.I.A. students from Homes of Hope

This September, four children from Gitega Homes of Hope started at Gitega International Academy, the private, Christian, English-speaking boarding school run by Burundi Youth for Christ. 

Two months into the new term, I went to visit Edgar, Tharcien, Olivier and Kersy to find out how they were coping with the transition and life at boarding school. 

The interview took place in the headmasters office without a translator. It was exciting to see how good their English is getting as they were able to understand my questions and give simple answers in what is currently their 3rd language. (Which just puts Western language learning to shame!)

Once they realised that they had not been summoned to the Headmaster's office because they were in trouble (oops! - perhaps I should have thought about that) they relaxed and were happy to talk to me. Tharcien took the lead, leaning forward in his chair and confidently answering the questions. The others added extra information and added their opinions to the conversation. 

Me: Do you like it here at GIA?

Thacien: There are many good things.

Edgar: We make many friends

Tharcien: We learn to be good pupils

Kersy: We learn English

Me: You already learnt English at Future Hope School. Is it hard having all your classes in English?

Tharcien: Sometimes, at the beginning

Olivier: It’s good

Kersy: Some people struggle with English

Me: What’s the best thing about being at GIA?

Olivier: We make new friends

Tharcien: We do homework ourselves, in the evenings  (Note: Before, their homework time was very structured and guided, now they have more freedom and responsibility)

Edgar: Good food

Me: How did you feel before you came?

Thacien: We were scared because everything was new

Kersy: Scared about making friends

Me: And what about now? Have you made new friends?

(All nod vigourously) Yes

Edgar: Lots!

Me: Have you seen people from Homes of Hope?

(All beam enthusiastically) Yes

Tharcien: They come on Visitation Day

Me:What are your favourite subjects?

Tharcien: English

Kersy: Maths

Olivier: Science

Edgar: English

Me: Have you joined any clubs? (extra curricular)

Tharcien: Basketball

Edgar: Football

Lesly: Drama, Girls sports.

At this point I was concerned that they would miss out on their lunch, so I thanked them and sent them on their way.

 There were still a couple of questions that puzzled me, so I went to the staff room to talk to a variety of teachers, to ask how they thought the students were settling in.

How are the children from Homes of Hope doing?

- They’re doing great. They’re the best English speakers in their class.

- When they arrived they had more English than 90% of the pupils in their class, so they answered more questions than anyone else.

- Academically, they’re probably in the top 10% of their class.

Some GIA pupils are the richest and most privileged kids in Burundi. Is there a difference between them and the kids from Homes of Hope?

- It’s great, you can’t see a difference at all.

- They bought them some nice clothes to wear in the evenings and weekends just before they came, so they wouldn’t stand out.

- They’ve all made friends, Tharcien especially is very popular

- The other kids know about Homes of Hope. They’re fascinated; on the first Visitation Day, Regis brought all the kids to visit them, and they kind of took over the place. [laughs] Now he just brings a house of kids, and they rotate every time.

- I’ve never heard of anyone giving them any trouble. All the students have just slotted into life here at GIA, regardless of what life was like before

Homes of Hope Gitega

Deep in the heart of Burundi, surrounded by hills and valleys as far as the eye can see, lies Gitega, Burundi's second city.
A short distance away from the town centre, down a bumpy dirt track road, is Burundi Youth for Christ's most developed program, Gitega Homes of Hope.

Once you enter through the colourful, painted gates, you can see the spread out buildings clinging to the side of green, grassy hillside. Smoke rises slowly from the charcoal cooking stoves as House Mamas prepare food for the children. Brightly coloured clothes hang drying on the washing lines. Outside of school hours, the children play.

Gitega Homes of Hope currently houses 36 orphans, a diverse mixture of ages and ethnic backgrounds all growing up together.

Sitting casually on one of the house porches last Sunday, basking in the warm afternoon sun, it was great to watch the children play with skipping ropes. The gentle rhythmic swish of the rope brushing against the ground, joined with the happy laughter of contented children; it was a beautiful sight.

These children have had some of the worst starts in life imaginable, but now they have a new home, a fresh start, masses of exciting opportunities, and a new life. Reminds me of the prophet Isaiah speaking, "...a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:3).
I find this such a beautiful picture of how God longs to welcome us home as his children.

Once these children were hungry, homeless orphans. Now they have food, a good education, people who care for them, and every opportunity to grow into tomorrows leaders and shapers.

Now that's worth getting excited about!