“Having a friend visiting you is a blessing, but it is even more blessing when he brings you some help because this gives great joy. When he opens the basket and gives what he brought you, it is difficult to forget this gesture! May God bless our friends in Ndava and Mwendo.” Mrs. Juliette BAMVUGAMENSHI
Torrential rain and strong winds caused havoc across East Africa in December and January, with higher rainfall during the anticipated rainy season. Burundi was no exception.
There is a reason why generations have sung harvest songs of thanks, when climate is inextricably tied to agriculture, and agriculture is inextricably linked to life, being thankful for a harvest isn’t simply a or a statement of gratitude from behind a supermarket shelf, it is a marker that another year is possible.
For the last five years, First Presbyterian Church in Bend, Oregon, working with African Road and Changemaker, Evariste Ndikumana, has been supporting the agricultural sustainability of three villages in the Kayanza province, northern Burundi. As a result, life, health and growth, quite literally has become possible for these communities.
This year, disaster struck, and the harvests for the village of Gahombo were completely destroyed. I interviewed Batwa leader, Evariste in December, to find out what happened, and how they as a community were able to respond,
“Torrential rain caused damage in Kayanza province on Tuesday, December 10th. Houses were destroyed and crop fields were damaged, the Gahombo Batwa were the most affected. This season, our brothers and sisters from Gahombo will not have a harvest. Torrential rains mixed with violent winds fell on the community, Gahombo. Overflowing the rivers which poured into fields of [harvest] cultures. Houses were found surrounded by marshes of water and others completely destroyed.”
What had ASSEJEBA, the Batwa leadership team supporting these communities been able to do in response?
“Gahombo’s village was flooded so they didn’t harvest this season, so at the time of harvest we asked the villages of Mwendo and Ndava to support Gahombo people with a share of their crops, and they did.”
Ndava and Gahombo are the two other Kayanza villages that ASSEJEBA works with, and First Presbterian Church of Bend partners with. They themselves are stretched for food between seasons, but still they eagerly agreed to generously share what they had, so that the people of Gahombo would be able to eat.
When asked about the logistics of sharing the food, Evariste told us,
“We took a delegation of five people from each village [Ndava and Mwendo]. We put the beans, corns and potatoes in baskets and they went to Gahombo themselves to deliver the food. Isadore, ASSEJEBA team member with our driver are those who helped them in that activity. The people of Gahombo received the food 7th of February and the food lasted for three weeks.”
This remarkable act of generosity from people who have so little, produced a strong sense of pride, privilege and honor amongst those who gave from the other two villages. They told ASSEJEBA,
“When you are blessed, it is always good to bless others. We are blessed in Ndava with a wonderful harvest and we have come to bless our friends here in Gahombo.” Mrs. Marguerite BANZIRA, Ndava village
“I am very happy that we too can have what we need to give to others when they are in need. This is a blessing for us. God has blessed us through our friends in the USA and it is good that we too can help others. Looking closely at the plight of the people of Gahombo when I came there, I can see it would have been very difficult for me to go there without bringing them something that could help them. I am very grateful to those who gave us the seeds and land to cultivate because that is what allowed us to have what to give them!” Mrs. Jeanine NDUWAYEZU from Mwendo village
ASSEJEBA also shared the voices of those in Gahombo, for whom a lack of harvest was devastating:
“They [the people of Ndava and Mwendo] showed us love by helping us and we are very happy; our children and us. God has always shown his love for us by sending us people who have been helping us since we experienced the misfortune of the heavy rains that ravaged our fields. May God bless you!” Mrs. Languide NSABIMANA
It is a new season and crops are growing in Gahombo, with the next harvest due in May. The kindness and generosity of their neighbors has given strength to residents of Gahombo village, as they work toward the future.
Additional vital relief was also generously provided by members of Bend Presbyterian Church, working in conjunction with African Road. African Road continues to partner closely with Evariste and the ASSEJEBA leadership team to seek to find more sustainable solutions, in the context of their climate challenges.
African Road seeks to encourage individuals and communities to become self-sustaining, but also recognizes that every person and community, particularly those with no financial ability to store and stockpile food, are most vulnerable to unexpected challenges. African Road is committed to ongoing partnership with Evariste and ASSEJEBA, focusing on providing Identity Kits as a first step toward long-term sustainability.
We celebrate the friendship demonstrated by the people of Ndava and Mwendo in sharing their own valuable crops, and, we recognize the people of First Presbyterian Church of Bend for a long and faithful friendship that is changing the future for three Batwa villages in Burundi.
To find out more about Evariste and ASSEJEBA, African Road partnerships, the Batwa people and ID kits, click here, or drop us an email at info@africanroad.org