A Remarkable People
In the heart of Burundi, the world's poorest nation, the challenges are immense—genocide, disease, famine, and poverty have taken a heavy toll. Over two-thirds of its 12 million citizens are under the age of 25, and many are orphaned, enduring hardship without resources or hope.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO OFFER HELP?
You may have heard one or more of the following calls to action: “We pledge to end global poverty.” Or “We will build wells! Wells save lives.” Or maybe, “Education is the answer! We can build schools.”
WHAT IF WE DARED TO ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION: WHAT DO BURUNDIANS WANT?
Who knows better what they want and need than the hungry, suffering, beautiful, resilient people of Burundi? Their history is long. They have endured decades of turmoil, colonization, and interference. Burundians inhabit a small African country, landlocked, densely populated, and just south of Rwanda. Like its northern neighbor Rwanda, it is mainly populated by Hutu’s and the Tutsis. Much smaller groups of Pygmies and colonies of Chinese migrant workers also live in Burundi. Before Europeans (first the Germans, then the Belgians) assumed control of Burundi in the late eighteen hundreds, Burundi was a series of feudal kingdoms that were governed by Tutsi’s who predominantly owned cattle. The Hutu’s were the “cultivators''. Today, the Hutu tribe is the ruling party, holding the majority of government offices.
Mama Georgette, a US citizen, has returned to her native home not as a hero with answers, but as a humble servant who listens and dreams. Though age 82, she is not rushing to fix, hurrying to build, pushing to change, moving to solve. She is not fearful of running out of time. Rather, she believes with her whole being that the Lord wants to bring hope and reconciliation to Burundi. In His way. In His time.
So every morning she wakes up to praise God for a new day, a new opportunity to love her neighbor, a new chance to imagine that Burundi’s children can learn to care for themselves and each other the way a shepherd cares for his sheep. Despising politics, she meets with Burundi’s governors and mayors and chiefs and religious leaders. She thanks them for their leadership and credits them for the programs she has founded: the orphanage, the family care center, the assisted living home, the farms, and even the school that she is building.
What do Burundians want? They want to be overcomers. They do not want other people to fix them. But when they see someone like Mama, one of their own, improving the lives of forgotten children and elderly, the hungry and poorest of the poor, they do not get in the way for long. They are proud that a Burundian is creating solutions. That is why Burundi Miracle Project (BMP) is committed, first and foremost to this:
HELPING BURUNDIANS HELP BURUNDIANS
We feel honored to partner with Mama Georgette, and now her daughter Sandra, in encouraging their dreams to become realities. Together with their dedicated Burundian team, they are agents of reconciliation. They serve the most vulnerable population groups in Burundi.
Their work there is nothing short of miraculous.