It is often natural for people to focus on the needs of a country and its people rather than the assets God has given them. Burundi is no exceptions to this. As a country of nearly 12 million people, Burundi is ranked in the human development scale as one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Its illiteracy rates are the highest in the world. Therefore it would be natural for those from the outside, including the church, to figure out how we can address all the deficits of this country. However, when we focus on addressing the deficits first, we marginalize further a already marginalized a group of people who have suffered from genocide as well as 7 years of civil war.
My purpose of coming to Burundi was, thankfully, not to figure out how to fix all the problems of the country, but to celebrate the assets God has given these people,! These include a vibrant church and key visionaries who long to use the God given assets to assist all people in Burundi to flourish as beings created in the image of God.
I was surprised how much Burundi had accomplished on its own without very much foreign aid or outside investment. One of the most powerful institutions in the country is the Pentacostal Church, with nearly 1 million members. The church is engaged in holistic ministry which includes education, health care and literacy. This church, with virtually no outside assistance, is funding over 1,200 literacy centers that are helping people to learn to read and write in Kirundi.
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| A large church in a rural area of Southern Burundi that has planted nearly one hundred other churches. |
I was most impressed with a small group of Christian leaders that had the vision to be a bridge for all the denominations, which over the years have become fragmented and fractured from each other. Partners Trust International is helping to equip and empower people- through leadership training change agents who go back to their respected denominations- to urge the denominations to unite on issues that impact governance and poverty alleviation issues in Burundi.
Even in some of the most improvised communities I visited in Burundi, hope is coming through dynamic partnerships. We learned that SIL has the potential for several exciting partnerships in the area of literacy and scripture use and we look forward to further meetings with potential partners.
I was also honored to be part of a team with Nurses International and the start of a new BA in Nursing that Partners Trust International will begin to run in the next year. God is moving in Burundi and I praise God for getting a glimpse of his vision for Burundi.
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| Lake Tanganyika is the second largest fresh water lake in the world. |
