Burundi Mission Update October 2007

Greetings to you all from Burundi and Congo. I write this while waiting to return to Burundi, as we have been in Congo for the past 4 days doing teacher training with 57 teachers from the area and the High Plateau.  We were unable to reach the plateau do to security concerns, but were able to safely bring the teachers down for this training. We were also to receive an update on the building program there and pictures which we will be scanning and sending along in the next week or so.

Eight houses are now complete and we are preparing for further construction, including the school which is desperately needed.  We safely arrived back on September 6th, and since then have been kept very busy with the opening of the school and various other endeavours.

It seems that the month of September just flew by. The King's School has successfully opened, and at present we have 305 students with a long waiting list. We are having to refuse entry to many students, simply due to lack of space. All of our classes are full, with many over extended. We have a great staff this year, with teachers and teaching assistants from Burundi, Kenya, Canada, U.K. and Denmark. We are also blessed to have 5 of our graduating students helping out in the school as teaching assistants until they begin their A level studies in January in Uganda. The school staff has grown to 21 teachers, 7 teaching assistants, 2 admin. staff, and 16 support workers. We have just completed further teacher training and staff assessment with David Freeman from U.K., which has been a real blessing both in Burundi and Congo.

In Congo we had the deputy minister of education for the South Kivu Province with us, and he was very receptive to the teaching and philosophy. We are now working with 5 schools in this area and a combined student population of close to 2,000 students. The teachers' eagerness to learn, their receptivity and teachability was a joy to witness. 

Upcountry we are waiting for the rains to come in order to begin seed distribution, particularly amongst the Batwa villages. We must wait for the rain, as they will eat the seed if it is not distributed at the right time along with some food assistance. This will begin to take place over the next 3 weeks, and we will give you an update on the progress. We will also, as finance is available try to assist other areas, particularly with seed. The rains are late again, and there is much concern for this coming season's crop. Please pray for rain!

The agriculture project with Evariste is doing very well. We have begun the building of a road into the village, and the construction of a storage facility to keep seed and produce, and provide security for the harvest (recently we have had to employ guards to protect the fields and crops as they are ready for harvest from thieves and rebels). We are experimenting with our first "earthbag" building, and so far it is going well. The finished building will be approximately 100 sq. meters and we are utilizing almost all locally available materials. We want this to be a prototype for further construction in this area where building materials are very scarce and very expensive.

Housing, school and a church are next on the agenda.  Much thanks to Samaritan Purse Ireland for their support in this project. We also recently were able to distribute school materials to many of the Batwa children in this village whose parents are working on the project I depart on Sunday to meet up with a team of 9 other Canadians in Arusha, Tanzania, where we will begin our assent of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

This is a fundraising endeavour through which we are planning on building a new home for our children in Niyakabiga. These are the orphans we care for from the Gatumba massacre, and the facility we have at present is becoming too small.

We still have another 20 children who are at present in the refugee camp in Mwaro who we would like to bring into the home, but there is not enough space. As well, our present children are all growing, and are needing more space. A special thanks to Terry Corbould and Pegge Stewart in Bella Coola who have organized this Trek for the Children. I will return at the end of October and will update you all on this adventure.

We are also beginning construction of a new medical clinic in Gitega next week. We just received the title for the land from the government, and are hoping to have this facility built and opened early in the New year.
This clinic will particularly serve the needs of AIDS patients, Batwa, and other poor and needy. Again, the team from Bella Coola are spearheading the fundraising for this center.

We are still awaiting final funding for the Technical School property, but hope to have construction underway sometime in the spring. The plan, at present is to also build a new facility, utilizing some of the trades
training students, for the expanding secondary school needs. We would like to see our graduating students not having to go abroad to complete their secondary studies, and a new facility would provide the space to begin
offering "A" level studies.

The home at Niyakabiga is always a joy to spend time at. Recently, we spent the afternoon and filmed the children singing and dancing. They had written all of the songs themselves, and it was a true time of celebration.  We are hoping to make copies of the DVD and send it out before the New year.

Today we saw Joy (Kelvine Munezero) off to Nairobi for surgery on her leg. She is the one I have often spoken of. She was the sole survivor in the tent where she was living in Gatumba, and when she awoke, badly wounded and surrounded by dead bodies, her first words were " I am alive, therefore God must have a plan for my life!" She was shot up very badly in her legs and to date has had numerous operations, including plates and screws etc. the bones have now healed, and after almost 3 years, she is recovering. The problem is that she needed to get to Nairobi (where they first did the surgery) and get the plates and screws removed.  She was in constant pain and infections due to them still being in there. UNHCR, who originally airlifted her to Nairobi, were refusing to deal with this, citing lack of funds etc.  They had  recommended she get it done here in Bujumbura, but they did not have the expertise or facilities to properly deal with this. We had a letter from the surgeon in Nairobi who was willing to do the necessary surgery and follow up she requires to get back to full health. Joy is now 12 years old and a beautiful girl, who has a bright future ahead of her. Thanks to Ralph Bromley and Hope for the Nations in Kelwna, Joy is now on her way!

We have 41 now in school, (39 in Primary and 2 in Secondary), and in most case the children are top of their classes. They are all enjoying the new play-structure (thank you VCF children) and continuing to be a source of joy and encouragement to all who visit them. They asked me particularly to send their greetings to all of you! Amahoro! Dieu vous benice! Urakoze Cane! Our son Boss David has begun school, and recently informed us that "I am in charge of the kids when Madame Olive is not in the classroom!" (surprise??).

Mary Anne will be more involved particularly with Dr. Aline and both the AIDS projects and feeding with the now free (?) time. She is still working 3 days a week with 4 of our children who learning difficulties. She has worked with these ones for 2 years now, and they have become a large part of her life.

Thank you to all for your love, support and particularly your prayers. Until I return from Kilimanjaro!

Much love,

Ray, Mary Anne and Boss David

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