Dear Friends and Family,
In late June, I will be traveling to the African country of Burundi to spend a month teaching English at the Future Hope Orphanage and School, run by an organization called Burundi Youth for Christ. I had the privilege of working at Burundi YFC in 2009. I would like to share a short story with you as a means to raise awareness and support for the Future Hope School and Orphanage. If you feel moved to help, information is included at the end of this letter.
I am not asking for any money for myself. I have been fortunate enough to cover my own travel expenses. Every dollar of every donation will be used strictly to support the orphans at the Future Hope School.
I am not asking for any money for myself. I have been fortunate enough to cover my own travel expenses. Every dollar of every donation will be used strictly to support the orphans at the Future Hope School.
Burundians are among the most hospitable people I have ever met. In their culture, they will sell possessions and borrow from the entire neighborhood to greet a guest warmly with food and shelter. While they are rich with kindness and faith, Burundians live in the third poorest country in the world. When I visited the Future Hope School and Orphanage in the rural countryside, I was faced with a poverty and brokenness that I found unfathomable.
On the drive away from the capitol city of Bujumbura, I was shocked by the hard labor, horrible sanitation, and danger that characterized the lives of these agricultural people. I was relieved to get to the orphanage which is well-built and maintained. When my group first stepped out of the car, the children were afraid and gathered in a crowd. One brave child approached me cautiously and gave me a hug. I picked him up, spun him around, and set him back down. It took him a moment to decide what he thought of this, but when he let out a happy squeal the other children came flooding over to play. For the rest of my stay, there were at least two or three kids hanging off my arms, legs, or back at any given time! I cannot tell you what a joy it was to play with these children and teach English at the orphanage’s school.
As the sun set and I watched the children play, I was struck by the thought that these children, though so beautiful and joyful, had each been tragically touched by the intense and graphic violence of an eighteen-year civil war that only ended in 2008. These children lost their entire families to war, murder, disease, and hunger. While I was walking through the farmland, I saw children drinking dirty brown water trickling from an irrigation pipe. Honestly, I was overcome with sadness and grief that this level of suffering existed in the world. The next morning, I had a difficult time smiling for the children as they played and learned English because I only saw the crushing misfortune that life had dealt them.
Thankfully, relief came when my eyes were opened to the true condition of the orphans. I realized that Future Hope was truly a place of healing and community. Children whose parents were slaughtered in front of their young eyes had inherited a devoted set of local women who each served as a house mom to eight children. These women permanently live with the children, performing all the loving tasks of a mother. The director, Regis, is an incredible man who watches over the kids with all of the strength of a father. Sad memories of deceased siblings are eased by the bonds of fifty new brothers and sisters. To forget the suffering the orphans have endured in their young lives would be a terrible disservice to them and the memories of their lost loved ones. However, when I saw the children – the way they run and laugh, the way they eat and learn together, the way they pray and dance – I believed that this was truly a place where God’s mission to the poor and orphaned was being served every minute of every day.
The Future Hope School and Orphanage is one piece of Burundi Youth for Christ’s larger mission. In a country ravaged by a history of ethnic and geographically-based violence, Burundi YFC brings young people together from all ethnic groups and regions to be educated, trained, and loved. The founder, Freddy Tuyizere, envisions a future where the orphans and other children served by Burundi YFC will grow into leaders for the country. The key point is that these Hutu and Tutsi children will have developed and lived side by side, and when they assume leadership they will break the cycle of violence that has plagued the Burundian people for decades.
When I return to Burundi, I hope to bring them support. Support in any form sends the message that the world cares. Sometimes there is no greater relief to suffering than the knowledge that you are not alone.
How can you help?
1. Pray- spiritual support is the greatest gift that you can give to the Burundian people.
2. Give- in a country where the average yearly income is $140 USD, even very small amounts of money can make an incredible impact on a child’s life. $3 is enough to treat a malarial illness that causes many deaths in Burundi. $50 is enough to educate a child for a year! The orphanage needs support for raising the children, school supplies and lunches for the community children, and teachers’ salaries.
Again, every dollar of every donation will be used strictly to support the orphans at the Future Hope School.
- I will carry money with me to Burundi to be exchanged for a better rate.
My address is 13170 NW Pettygrove Street, Portland, OR 97229.
- Great Lakes Outreach is a charitable organization that sends money to Burundi YFC
Great Lakes Outreach, PO Box 2379, Mount Pleasant SC 29465
Just write “Burundi YFC- FHS” on the memo line)
-Last time I went, I carried toys and books with me but discovered that isn’t their primary need. Financial support gives them the flexibility to meet ever changing needs including sick children, car and building repairs, livestock/crop loss etc. Furthermore, it is very difficult to carry anything of value into the country due to rampant luggage theft.
3. Go- Burundians LOVE visitors! If you would like to visit Burundi in the future I can put you in contact with Freddy. Call me at 503-705-4454 or email me at herzog@ohsu.edu.
4. Learn- Check out these websites for more information!
http://www.greatlakesoutreach.org/ - has some great pictures and videos of Burundi
On behalf of the Future Hope Children, THANK YOU for your interest and generosity!
Bo Herzog
