Burundi Village Support

Our close connection to Burundi started 11 years ago when we met David Nduwimana from Burundi at church one day in Manly, seeking asylum from the violence and unrest of his home country. We welcomed him into our house and he's been part of the family ever since !

With his beaming smile and love for music, he’s brought joy into our lives. He was even invited to sing the National Anthem at the Bledisloe Cup a few years ago to a packed stadium of Wallabies supporters !

I now have the privilege of travelling to Burundi in October this year to meet David's family and visit a local village of 300 families that desperately need support. It's really easy to take things for granted in life and we often don't appreciate what we have and how fortunate we are until we lose it. In this village running water and electricity are foreign concepts, jobs are scarce and food and clothing for their families are an occasional luxury.

My daughter Kathlyn and I will be over there putting together food packages for all 300 families, providing much needed bedding, clothing and might even take some Tim Tams across with us...chocolate is the ultimate luxury that many have never tasted. Meeting these families in person and being part of their community will be a humbling experience and quite confronting, I'm sure. It will give us an increased gratefulness for what we have in Australia and how much we have to be thankful for. We'll also be supporting an orphanage and a school for blind children in the community and will spend a day with them and provide much needed supplies.

We'll be looking at ways to provide ongoing employment in the village to give them an income stream and a sense of purpose. Agricultural options for sowing and reaping crops is the solution here. It will give ongoing employment, food production and prevent the need for families to be apart for weeks on end whilst one of them seeks jobs elsewhere.

Planning construction projects for basic housing is also on the list. Their current huts aren’t even waterproof and the building of decent shelter will also create jobs in the process. $10,000 builds a complete house…wouldn’t achieve that in Sydney ! All funds for the construction projects will be governed through the charity organisation WeCare Africa.

The highlight will be visiting their local church. David will lead the worship singing and their joy will be overflowing despite their living conditions. True happiness is not found in material possessions or a future set of external circumstances...

Every time I've mentioned the trip, people have been so excited to be part of it, hence this link for those who are keen to support. It's amazing how far funds will go in Burundi ... even a small amount changes lives. Much appreciated.