Mary Ann and I are winding up our time at Hope Africa University in Bujumbura, Burundi, returning to Seattle Sunday night. Excitement today on our morning walk involved Mary Ann tripping and falling on her face in the dirt with some pretty big bruises. 2 nurses at our house gave her first aid. She is now holding frozen peas to her forehead.
Here are some things that impress me about this Central African country:
-Burundi is a beautiful country, filled with mountains and valleys, green and lush at this season of the year. Burundians are beautiful people, warm and friendly.
-Burundi is a fertile country with terraced hillsides and valley gardens. I was amazed to observe coffee, bananas and corn in the same garden plots. Coffee has become something of an export crop. I wonder why it is not the same with tea.
-Burundi is coming alive toward education. After years of civil war and instability, the current government has made primary and secondary education free. As Mary Ann and I walked around the neighborhood of Hope Africa U, we have been amazed at the hordes of uniformed school children heading to school. Students at HAU are very committed to learning.
-In Burundi, it appears to me that so much of life even organizational life is based on survival. As one of the most densely populated and economically distressed countries, many struggle merely to survive. When your goal is to survive, values are oriented around achieving that goal. For example, average family size is 6.8 children. Often some children do not make it to adulthood. Those who do become security for their aging parents. Some of a family’s “children” may actually be orphans of another set of parents who have died of AIDS or in the civil war. The question of whether or not 6.8 children is a good idea becomes less important than the question of surviving.
-In Burundi, the need for flexibility among foreigners who try to spend time and serve here is huge. Expectations about efficiency, being on time, equipment that works, the time it takes to achieve goals like going shopping, all need to be adjusted. While I’m not sure I adjusted completely I certainly saw that failure to do so results in constant frustration.
-In Burundi, community is a very high value. Students at HAU watch out for each other. In one nursing class, none of the students would accept a text book until all class members had received one. In my class, students already present make space for students coming in late to join the circle. Conversation and greetings are more important than in the end-product, goal-oriented West.
This has been a good time of serving a world away from our home. We are grateful for the privilege of serving. Thanks for your prayers.
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