Education is Desperately Needed in Burundi!

Mr. Micah

We are finally settling in to life in Burundi. After making some changes with the boys and school, our days are much happier. Savana now says, “but if I go back to Canada, I will miss my friends here!” It is good she is so adaptable, we thank God for her. We made the decision to take Joshua out of school and almost daily he thanks Jesus for not sending him to school where kids touch him! We have been thankful for “Ode” a young girl who can come and watch Joshua while Charles and I go to GIA.

Elijah washing shoes

Washing clothes

Joshua

Savana washing shoes

Charles in his office 

I have been asked to research and give recommendations on a health issue I have not yet had to deal with…..WORMS! I am currently doing research on the deworming process and which medications are most beneficial for Burundi. I am thankful for a young lady, Francine who is a house mother at GIA…..she has a fair bit of health knowledge and is a good resource for me with issues such as malaria and worms. I must say that my research in the deworming process has been unpleasant at times and a little challenging as different worms live in different areas of Africa and medications are different for different worms. After doing some reading, I know that my family and I will have to take part in this process as well before we return to Canada!

Darla teaching house parents

I completed an education afternoon with the house parents at GIA….these are the men and women who directly oversee the kids in the dorms. A big part of the process was talking about hand washing and educating on the importance of it. The rest of the time was dealing with many things….breathing problems, headaches, abdominal pain, nosebleeds, hypoglycemia, etc. One question I had asked was, “Our students sleep 4 to a room, if one has asthma, how do we keep it from passing on to other kids?” The other area that created lots of discussion was nosebleeds. It was a new idea for them to know that just because the child has a nosebleed, does not constitute a reason to travel to the hospital! There is much health education to be done with the staff and students of GIA. There have been many attempts over the past couple of years to implement hand washing after using the bathroom, please pray that the resistance to this simple process goes away! It has been challenging to have the cleaning staff agree to make soap available at the bathroom sinks….they claim the students just take the soap so they don’t want to keep replacing it. We are trying to implement “soap on a rope” to be able to help with hand hygiene.

A common toilet

I have also introduced a poster contest that the students here at GIA are partaking in….I encountered a couple of problems right away. Firstly, the kids have no idea what a poster is, secondly, they have no idea what a “poster contest” is, and thirdly, when I looked at the resources for finding appropriate information, I was discouraged. There is one, very basic, health book that is available in 10 copies, and that is the extent of the health resources. If anyone has any health or medical books they can donate to GIA, it would be very much appreciated! As well, they are in need of a study bible to help the teachers with preparation of the religious classes. Please email us if you are able to help with any of these items! A positive point of me having to print off articles, for the poster project, is that I am able to find research specific to Burundi and East Africa. It has opened my eyes as to how much work there is to do in Burundi regarding basic education….education that we take for granted in developed countries!

There is always so much to write about so it is difficult to limit my writing. The important thing is that God has been good and faithful to us and he has given us immeasurable peace with being in Burundi! We thank you for supporting us, and praying for us during this process and we are excited to see how God will continue to use our family in the community we are in.

A few praise items:

1.      We are thankful that the kids are finally getting settled

2.      Darla is able to get to work at GIA. The student’s parents are VERY thankful to have a nurse for the campus.

3.      Charles is finally settling in with teaching his classes

4.      We were able to find someone to look after Joshua….it could have been difficult as we wanted someone who Joshua would easily bond with, who speaks French and that would not charge us too much. God provided in a wonderful way

A few items for prayer:

1.      We deal with many cultures on the staff at GIA….pray for continued unity between the teachers, house parents and support staff.

2.      There are a few missionaries who are done their term at the end of this year so GIA is in search of more teachers for the fall. Pray that God will bring those who

3.      The headmaster of GIA is leaving at the end of this term as well, due to health issues. Youth for Christ is searching for a new headmaster/principle. Pray they will be able to find and select the person that God wants to lead GIA.

4.      Pray that efforts to implement routine handwashing will be accepted by staff and students of GIA

5.      Pray for Charles as he teaches his classes and that the content would reach the students hearts

6.      We need a place for our family to stay for July and August while we are in Canada

We plan to return to Canada, this summer for a couple of months to do more fundraising. We are booking places to go and share what is happening in Burundi. If you would like for us to come share at your church or in a small group, please let us know and we would love to come and share more about our mission! If anyone is interested in coming to Burundi on missions, there are many opportunities for you to be involved! 

If you would like to donate to our mission, you can donate through the Youth for Christ Edmonton website or Bridges of Hope website earmarked "burundi mission".

http://www.yfced.com/index.php/donate/how-to-donate
http://www.thebridgesofhope.com/index.php?p=Donate