Keeping Up With the Koenigers

For this post, we look at another section of the world...India.

During my time at home, I was able to see some friends.  Ryan and Dannah are a married couple and are serving in India.  Ryan is an architect and Dannah is a civil engineer.  They work with Engineering Missions International (EMI, www.emiusa.org).  I am lucky that we were both in the US this July.   I was able to go to their open house, and listen to some of their stories from India.

You may have heard some news in December that an woman was raped in India by a group of men, and later died.  I guess it's not unusual women get attacked in India.  But, there were two things unusual in this case...1) it was pretty brutal and 2) it was an unlikely situation a rape would have occurred.  The woman was raped on a bus, traveling around 9pm (not too late), with a companion and with six other men on the bus.  This happened one or two miles from where Ryan and Dannah live in Delhi.

In India, a woman may be raped but may never come forward about the incident.  In fact, in India, a woman may be imprisoned for revealing her identity.  Women not coming forward about these incidents can happen in other countries, even in America.  But, it's disturbing the frequency it happens in India.  If the woman is single, making the rape public may discourage someone from marrying the woman.  If the woman is married, her husband may divorce her.  Since the men involved often aren't prosecuted, rape isn't discouraged by the justice system like it should be.

A tragic story to say the least, but I liked hearing about what happened after the incident.  Some men gathered in a public place.  They held signs written in different languages apologizing to women for actions of men.  The group was led by a man from Ryan and Dannah's church.  The protests and media attention have pressed the government to make changes.

Dannah is pregnant with the couple’s first child.  They are expecting...a girl.  :)  Dannah and Ryan are returning to India in a couple of weeks.  They are planning on delivering the baby in India.  Things could get interesting...Dannah is due during a holiday weekend where celebrations may include fireworks, alcohol and some marijuana. 

The Koenigers return to India in a couple of weeks.  If you would like to see some of their stories, go to:
www.worldedge.net/koeniger
Heads up...you will need to enter your e-mail address and create a password.

Please pray for the Koenigers and their work in India.

Some resources:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/11/world/asia/india-males-violence/index.html?hpt=wo_bn4 Keeping chivalry alive in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Delhi_gang_rape_case
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-22999478 Why an India rape victim disclosed her identity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20907755 The rapes that India forgot
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13264301 India’s unwanted girls
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20863860 How India treats its women

The Rest of the Story

So, my six months are up!  I have returned home, and arrived at 5:30pm on the 4th of July.  God bless America!  My Mom picked me up from the airport.  I managed to stay awake, have some good dinner at a friend’s house, and see the local fireworks. 

I have decided to return to Burundi and teach another semester.  I should leave around August 19th, and be back home around Christmas.  So...perhaps I should have named this blog something different.   Whoops!

I am glad to be home, but honestly...I thought I would have a hard time being home.  Perhaps that is yet to come?  Many people do not realize that often missionaries have a harder time adjusting when they come home than when they go to another country.  The same can be true of military serving overseas.  I think it was true for me when I returned from Thailand.  This time around, I've had a couple days with high anxiety, but I've been alright.

Thank you for reading this blog, it means a lot to me.  I hope you have enjoyed reading about things God is doing in Burundi, seeing the pictures and videos of the people, and hearing stories from the other side of the world.  So, as Paul Harvey used to say, stay tuned for “the rest of the story.”

“Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

Murals

One of the things that is important in Burundi is public education.  Besides the gospel, it's important people know about things like the spread of diseases, nutrition, and birth control.

For example, one of the things people eat here is cassava root.  It is white and chalky.  It fills the stomach, but has no nutritional value.  There has been some attempts to encourage people to abandon cassava. 

I met a lady at the Internet café one day.  She travels around Burundi and hosts conferences to educate mothers.  She gives the mothers a meal to try, and teaches the mothers the importance of cooking different foods.  The variety of food provides kids the nutrition they need.  I asked her if they promote deworming pills, because I had heard that worms can take up to 30% of the nutrition and food from a person.  She said they didn't promote medicine or deal with medicine.  I had some deworming pills with me, and she asked if she could have them for her grand daughter.

For birth control, I've seen several posters advertising the condom brand Class.  But...birth control is taboo.  People don't talk about it, and the Christian and Catholic churches discourage it in Burundi.  For term one, the science teacher before me taught some sex education.  When I asked kids the first day of school what they wanted to learn about in science, many of them wanted to learn more about sex education. I will probably have to touch on that next term.

AIDS is a problem in Burundi, but it's not something I have seen a lot of issues with during my time in Africa.  I have heard about educating people about AIDS through radio commercials. 

Many people in Burundi don't have television.  Some listen to the radio religiously.  Many don't know how to read.  So...one way that has been effective for educating people is through murals.  These are some pictures of murals Hanna took while in Cankuzo.

This mural shows problems associated with drinking.

This mural shows the issues associated with smoking.

 The next two murals are social comments.  Many women in Burundi generally farm, take care of the children, do the washing, and do the cooking.  Some men sell things, do construction jobs or other hard labor jobs, or transport goods on bicycles.  In some situations, a man will earn his wages, spend them on alcohol, and then come home to his wife with nothing. 

In the next mural, it shows the man whistling.  I'm guessing that's to show that the man isn't hindered in his life, but I wonder if it relates to more.  In Burundi, the stereotype is that if a woman whistles, it means she is uneducated.  So, women generally don't whistle.

I'm not sure what this mural is about.  I think it's about encouraging one another.


Cibitoke Revisited

On the way to Cibitoke, I hoped Mom would see some birds.  I guess during the dry season, the birds hide.  Oops!  She did get to see a couple.

On the way, Johnnie said, "Burundians like to dance." The road was still bad, and we had to weave in and out of the holes.  But...there were some piles of dirt on the side of the road, ready to be used to fill the holes.

In Cibitoke, we saw the bakery again.  This time, they were making ibitambura, or sweet cubes of bread that are fried.  They are like donuts but without holes in the middle, powdered sugar, or frosting.

 

Mom with Joan, a lady from the YFC office.  She's been extremely
helpful with the immigration office, getting visas, and helping me get around in Bujumbura.

  

Across the road from the children's home is the new school, and another school where the kids currently go.  

 

Local kids watching the construction of the wall, and kids playing at the school.

 

The kids were doing well.  We did some coloring, and hung out with the kids.  We then went over to the new playground at the new school.  I believe the school will be open this fall.  A volunteer named Tara came out to Burundi a few weeks ago.  She packed some playground equipment, but it didn't come on her flight.  Thankfully, it did eventually come, and she was able to add it to the new playground at the school.  The kids love the new playground!  Thanks Tara, and those who have contributed to the playground!  Here’s a video of the mamas laughing at two kids swinging on the same swing.

Mom handing out cotton candy.

The store is now completely operational.  It has been a success, and we have been selling a lot of bread.  The new baker was invited out to my town to train the bakers at our bakery.  He joined us one night for dinner, but didn't speak much English.  The kids English is improving.  Seth took a video of the kids thanking the people in Australia and singing a song.



The new store, now fully in business.

 

"Thank you Australia for all you are doing...and have a good night."

Seth Chase

When Mom was out here, we left our town and traveled to the capital.  We stayed the night in the Youth for Christ guest house.  The next morning, Johnnie, the president of YFC, picked us up.  We traveled with Johnnie, Jackie, and a videographer, Seth Chase, to Cibitoke.  Seth was traveling to Cibitoke to make a video of the Children’s home for some of YFC’s supporters in Australia.  Here's a video he made last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQhD69aVvtE

Seth is from Montana, but has been traveling a lot in the last ten years.  He has traveled to many African nations, including southern Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congo.  Seth knows a lot of politics in this area, and it was fascinating listening to some of his experiences.  He has had some contact with some political figures, and talked about some of the meetings related to the ongoing war in the Congo.  Seth reminds me of my uncle.  He’s adventurous, independent, and very smart.

The Congo has been in a state of war now for ten years.  Congo’s border is about 3km from Cibitoke.  Seth has traveled the road to Cibitoke a number of times to go to the Congo.  Soon, Seth will be traveling to the Congo and doing a video on Artisan Mining.  Artisan mining is done by making small tunnels and using basic tools.  It sounds like something from the movie Shawshank Redemption.  In the movie, the main character takes years to dig a prison escape tunnel using a small rock hammer.  Seth has had a lot of experiences, but this one is risky and one that he admits that has him worried.  Could you please pray for him and his journey?  It’s possible the film will be funded by Switzerland, but at this time, it’s not funded.  Seth will be doing the trip out of his own pocket.

For more information, go to http://kivumining.org or look up some of Seth's videos on YouTube.  You can Google Seth, however, beware!  There are multiple people named Seth Chase.  One is a terrorist, and another one does porn videos!

 

 

Batwa Project

After being in my town, the South Carolina joined Harvest for Christ doing other mission work.  They spent some time with the Batwa.  The Batwa are also called bushmen or pygmy.  Have you seen the movie "Gods Must Be Crazy" or its sequel?  It was about a tribe of bushmen.  There are mainly three tribes in Burundi...the Hutu, the Tutsi, and the Batwa. 

The Batwa are the minority.  According to the CIA's website, they represent about 1% of the population.  They are the poorest tribe and are often oppressed.  Jeremy and Nadia visited a Batwa village or area, and someone said to them, "Oh...you must come from the Batwa in Canada.  That's why you are helping them."

The Batwa are in need of housing.  Sherry told me that mothers and fathers will share a room with their children.  Since the children witness their parents having sex, they may have sex with each other at early ages.  There has been imbreding in some villages, and it has caused problems in the Batwa population.  So, Harvest for Christ is working with Burundians by building two room houses for some of the Batwa.  The group from South Carolina was able to work on the houses during their time in Burundi.

The children's home I live in has children from all three tribes.

Commute

The road from Cibitoke to Bujumbura is mostly paved.  Since Bujumbura is the largest city in Burundi, a lot of things are taken to the city.  Below are some pictures I took on the drive to Bujumbura.  Some people with bicycles make the 64km journey to Bujumbura and back every day.

 

 

Bikes transporting pineapple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the drive there was a community of cookie cutter brick houses.  The houses were built by a government project to get people to group together.  Together, the people would have access to clean water, and advantages of a community.  But...most of the houses were empty and unfinished.