A Muddy Visite Sur Terraine and Reflections on Peacemaking

David is now a toddler, and also very keen on helping with the housework whenever possible.



I hope this will be the last entry for a week or so which begins by noting what a busy week it was and how difficult it is to begin writing. The truth is, I fell into bed, completely exhausted while putting David down about 8pm. But now it is 2AM and I am wide awake.

I am happy to say that Sunday was a good day of rest for us. We did go to our church in the morning where I was the worship facilitator, followed directly by a trip to the beach. The afternoon we went to the English fellowship and sung many Christmas carols during worship time. It still does not feel anything like Christmas in terms of weather, but I am beginning to get into the Christmas spirit.

The past week’s busyness was mainly due to the visit from our regional director Mark Sprunger. He arrived this past Sunday, (the same day we were returning from Rwanda) and stayed until Friday evening this week. We had a lot of opportunity to talk to him about our programming and the challenge of keeping continuity in another year of diminished giving at home which necessitates deeper cuts in our budget here. (MCC giving is off about 12% this year.) He did have some good advice and made some helpful suggestions about strategic planning in the year ahead.

The bigger part of his visit though, was spent meeting our partners. On Monday, I took him to meet Onesphore of Moisson Pour Christ, before my language lesson. Then we had a big MCC team gathering for dinner at our house for all of us located in Burundi. This included the SALTers the Ressler Horsts, Zachee and Tim (Bridget was in Sudan), and us. We had a nice evening and even drew names for a secret Santa party later this week.

Tuesday morning was the start of a 3 day roadtrip. Because of Oren’s school, we decided that I would take Mark around and Rebecca would stay home with the children. We began early in the morning by heading south. We went in a convoy of 2 cars led by Cassien and another person from Help Channel. Besides Mark and I, Nathan and his family were going as well. The plan was to see some tree nurseries in Makamba, near the border of Tanzania, then some other nurseries and plantation in Rutana. We would stay the night in Rutana.

Help Channel, many of you may remember, runs a Food for Work program in which beneficiaries plant trees as part of a reforestation project in exchange for maize and beans (about a kilo of each per day.)

The drive south began well enough as we headed toward Nyanza Lac, which is quite a scenic ride along the coast of Lak Tanganyika. We even saw a hippo basking in the Lake as well as many fishermen at work. When we got to Nyanza Lak we headed East off the paved road toward the Tanzanian border. At this point the weather took a turn for the worst. A large storm was brewing (as it is rainy season), and I was hoping it would not be a problem for our Landcruisers on a muddy road.

We got to the first nursery site, which was located near a very large UNHCR refugee camp set up for returning refugees from Tanzania who were awaiting repatriation. This is a huge problem in the south as many fled Burundi as early as the 1970s and their land has since been given away to others. The return has been a cause of much land conflict which can turn murderous without intervention from others to find a non-violent solution.

The nursery looked small but had about 50,000 tree saplings in it. Most were eucalyptus for planting in the govt. granted land for reforestation, but there were also other trees, like grevaria that are given to beneficiaries to plant in their gardens and farmland. It was interesting to hear about the struggles of maintaining a nursery. I was also quite surprised to hear Cassien complain that there were several unscrupulous partners of UNDP who were receiving huge grants for reforestation, who would bring UN monitors to this nursery and represent it as their own. One even offered to buy the nursery outright from Help Channel. I suggested to Cassien that he put a sign up.

This is one thing I do like about MCC programs. Because we are a relatively small mission, we, as country reps. are able to monitor our projects and make sure that the money given is being used in way it was granted, and much has a direct impact on the lives of beneficiaries. Sadly, a lot of relief money granted by large donors ends up in the pockets of just about anyone but the needy, vulnerable people who it was intended for.

When we finished our tour, we continued on our way to Makamba for lunch. By this time the storm hit and driving became quite difficult on the muddy roads. At one point we had to get and change the hub locks to 4 wheel drive on both vehicles. We did get to Makamba and had a nice lunch at a guesthouse run by Cassien’s sister.

From there we continued on to Rutana and stopped at another nursery where we had the chance to talk to many of the beneficiaries in the community about the nursery. Many students also proudly brandished their school books that they had received from Help Channel, thanks to a container sent by MCC, of school kits.

We got to our guest house by evening, which was very cozy. There was even a fireplace which we all huddled around as a rainy night up country can be quite chilly. We had a very good Burundian dinner then turned in for the night.

The next morning, after a cold shower, Mark and I parted ways from Cassien and the Ressler-Horsts. We were headed to Gitega and then on to Burasira to see Jodi and stay the night at the seminary. The drive seemed straightforward enough as we were back on the paved road to Gitega, although I had never been on this particular road myself. We arrived in Gitega mid-morning where we had a very full day of visiting. We started with our partner UCPD who does peace-making and community development in a nearby commune. Jean-Pierre, their representative described their work to this very under served community which is not really on the ‘beaten path’ as far as places where a lot NGOs are working. Mark really appreciated the fact that MCC is at its best when it can be supporting work in places where others really are not present.

After talking with UCPD for about 2 hours, we headed to MiPAREC, our large partner who has set up peace committees all over the country. We had lunch with Levy, the legal rep. who told us about their programs. We left them and went down the road a bit to UCEDD, the organization that runs the Hope School for the Batwa. We talked to Beatrice, who with her husband Innocent (both Batwa) founded and run the school. She talked to us about the successes and challenges of this project.

By about 4 pm, completely mentally saturated from meetings, we headed down the 2 hour dirt road to Burasira to see Jodi and the Hope School. Because of the heavy rain, though, the road was really bad, as slippery as I have ever seen it. We had to 4 wheel it the whole way, and even then had some struggles to keep from going off the road.

It was good to get to Burasira and see Jodi. We had dinner at her home and conversation was much easier than the official tone that we adoped at meetings with partners. Jodi also talked about the Hope School and the challenge of her role as capacity builder.

We went back to the seminary around 10 pm and turned in for the night. We were up early on Thursday, with another cold shower, then 6am prayer at the seminary. We had breakfast there then went with Jodi up the Hope School to meet the principals and see some of the classes. Most of the students were gone for break, but we did find two classes that were still in session. We went in and greeted them and they sung some songs for us as well.

We left Jodi mid-morning so we could drive back down to Bujumbura and get back before my ballet class at 3 pm. The drive was still bad down the dirt road, which I think gave Mark and appreciation of just how remote Jodi is in her work at that school. He really felt that this program was an example of MCC at its best.

We did back to Buj. on time to teach the last ballet class of the semester. It was also good to see Oren, David and Rebecca again. Apparently, while we were gone, David decided to walk. Rebecca described how, on Wednesday morning, he was on the porch, and stood up with a small rock in his hand. He threw the rock out in front of him, then walked over to get it. He picked it up and repeated this about 6 or 7 times. (A little walkers training program he devised for himself.) I was sorry I was not there for this event, but have enjoyed watching him perambulate about the house on his new toddler legs. He does not talk yet except a couple words. (The first official word was ‘duck’, Oren’s was ‘up’)

Friday was Mark’s last day in Burundi. We took him to the airport about noon, only to have him call about 3 to say the flight was delayed until 1 in the morning. Zachee went and got him, then I picked him up and took him to a conference I was going to, hosted by one of our partners. It was about the role and responsibility of Christians in the Political process. Invitees were people in government, for a dialogue and debate. Mark and I set next to the former vice-president of the country. I had a talk with him before the meeting and asked what he was doing now. He said nothing, jokingly, and asked if there might be a job for him in our organization. (Actually he is a pediatrician who work with children with AIDS). Also in attendance were leaders of rival political parties who happened to be Christians. It was interesting to hear them discuss the role of the Church in promoting a peaceful electoral process.

We took Mark to Khanna Kazana for Indian food (he had done a stint in Bangladesh so he loves Indian food.). Then went home and watched an episode of the #1 Ladies Detective Agency before driving him back to the airport around midnight. This time he did get off.

Saturday was less work but not a day of rest as we had several social engagements. One was Timmy’s birthday party, held at the Rainbow Center, and the second was a Christmas pageant at our church. We dropped Oren off at the Birthday, where Zachee and Bridget and had rented a big air castle, then we went on to the Christmas pageant. Although it was all in Kirundi, it was great to see the familiar sight of children dressed as wise men, shepherds, angels, sheep, and the Holy Family, acting out the nativity scene.

As a final note I will mention a thought shared by the pastor at the English fellowship this week. He was talking about Christ as our peacemaker with God and quoted the beatitude to us: “Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “

He pointed out that it does not say Blessed are the peace lovers, or even blessed are peaceful people or peacekeepers. He reminded us that the word is peaceMAKERS, that is the activity of making peace, which is a far more challenging call then just avoiding conflict ourselves. He called on us to be peaceMAKERS not just peacekeepers, in our countries, our cities and our FAMILIES. May you all take the opportunity this season affords to be peacemakers in your workplaces, and homes. Remember HE is our peace. Merry Christmas.



Bonus Photo: One of the sights on our field trip. I am always trying to get a good photo of these women that balance 3 clay pots on their head. This one also had a baby on her back!