Burundi In The News 11-22-13

There are somethings that have happened these past few months in Africa, or in Burundi that I thought you might find interesting.  Be reassured that I am safe and well in my little corner of Burundi.  :)

KENYAN MALL ATTACK

On September 21st, a shopping mall was attacked by the al-Shabab terrorist group.  The siege lasted about four days.  About 67 people were killed, but the reports vary widely on the number of people injured and the number of perpetrators.  Some fear an attack soon in Uganda.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westgate_shopping_mall_attack
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24205152

BURUNDI AND SOMALIA

Burundi is one of the countries with soldiers in Somalia fighting against the al-Shabab terrorist group for control in Somalia.  I'm happy to report, al-Shabab is losing.  Burundians have helped train the Somalian armies, and have been at the front lines.

As tough and dangerous as the soldiers work is, there is some good news.  Burundian soldiers are trained, getting paid and it's been good for the Burundi economy.  After the various conflicts in this area (Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda), soldiers often have a hard time being integrated back into society.  This is especially true if they cannot return to their villages or families.

In Gitega, there is an army base.  Sometimes, I watch groups of soldiers run down the street near the internet cafe I use.  It would be great if I could take a picture and post it here.  Alas, it's illegal to post pictures of police men, soldiers or government buildings.

BURUNDI TRAVEL WARNING

Unfortunately, since al-Shabab is unhappy, there is a travel warning for people coming to Burundi.  I received an e-mail from the U.S. government this month renewing the travel warning from April 22:

"Because Burundi participates in peacekeeping operations in Somalia, the terrorist organization al-Shabaab, based in Somalia, has threatened to conduct terror attacks in Burundi. It may also target U.S. interests in Burundi."

So far, I have not heard of any al-Shabab attacks on Burundians or Americans.  I feel things have been safe where I live.  Perhaps al-Shabab has already had their revenge...some people think al-Shabab burned down the capital's market a few months ago.  The incident is still under investigation.

SKULLS

A friend of mine in America let me know about this news story.  An Italian that has been living in Burundi for about ten years was caught trying to smuggle two skulls to Thailand.  His home was searched, and between 24 and 40 skulls were found.  The man was buying the skulls for about $50 and selling them for about $300.  I wasn't able to find out where or who the skulls were from.  About 1994, a civil war started in Burundi.  Around 300,000 people were killed, and a lot of victims and the location of their bodies remain unknown.  I wouldn't be surprised if the skulls are from people killed during the war.  There is witchcraft in Africa, but besides one black magic booth in the market, I haven't seen anything else.

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Burundi-police-find-human-skulls-in-Italians-house-20131110

FABRIC TAXES

It's known that Burundi's government is corrupt.  But...there are some steps being taken to reduce the corruption.  One thing that has been changed recently is the addition of taxes on imported fabric.  This isn't the best news for the small business owners, but it is good that with regulation, there will be fewer bribes and a reduction in the corruption.  Also, perhaps the taxes will encourage Burundians to grow more cotton and produce more of their own fabric.  In protest of the new taxes, women that sell fabric removed their shirts and threw them at officials.  The customs officers and police weren't exactly sure what to do with the bare chested ladies.  This is a news story I will not be providing a link for.  :)

Children's Home11-12-13

This semester, I have continued to stay at the Children's home.  We have about 37 kids, and four houses.  We may be getting more kids soon, and adding a fifth house.  The kids are doing well all around.  I don't think there have been nearly as many sick this semester, and almost all of them are old enough to go to school.  When there is time, we do activities with the kids.  

I live with Jen, Hanna and Jackie.  All of us are in good health, and love being in Burundi.  Jen, Hanna and Jackie will continue teaching after I'm gone.  For the past few months, there has been an addition to our group--Sam.  Sam has been teaching the younger kids English at the primary school.  He has also helped the students at my school lead worship.  Sam has good English.  He is passionate about writing, reading and playing the guitar, and it's been a blessing having him with us.

One week, friends from Jackie and Hanna's church came to visit.  They brought me my camera...yeah!  I missed it.  They also brought sidewalk chalk.  The kids colored the sidewalks...then used their hands to put it on each other...including each other's faces!

We haven't played much chess, but one afternoon the girls were learning.  Hopefully we will have some more time to learn before I leave next month.

Every week, the kids get a treat.  Generally, they get it on the weekend.  This week, thee kids got cassava root.  It doesn't taste too bad.  It's a problem in Africa though...it fills the stomach, but is nutritionally worthless.  This was my first time having it.  If you look carefully, the house father is in the middle of this picture with cassava root in his mouth.  He's wearing black.

Once in awhile, I will show a movie to the kids.  This week, we watched Cinderella.  They really enjoyed it.  I will probably be showing them "How to Train Your Dragon" this weekend.

Some other pictures:

Sam with two of the kids.

Me, Jackie and Hanna near the house father's house.

 

Jumprope 11-12-13

The kids at the Children's Home love the new jumpropes.  They have been learning some new tricks...like criss crosses and jumping backwards.  Almost all the kids can jumprope.

One day, I taught them an old jumprope rhyme I know.  You swing the rope back and forth, and the kids jump over the rope.  It goes...

"Blue bells, taco shells, easy I say over."

They don't know what blue bells or taco shells are, but it works.  :)  When you say over, you start swinging the rope over their head and saying the months of the year.  When you say the month the kid was born in, then they run out.  One day, they came to me and got the small jump ropes.  Individually, they were trying to swing the rope back and forth and say the rhyme.  :)

We have been working on double dutch.  It's been a challenge, but this last weekend things seem to click.  About 6 girls can do it.  2 of them can get in the ropes almost every time without my help.  Surprisingly...one of the two girls is 5!

At school, the younger boys have taken the most interest in the jumpropes.  Once in awhile, Jackie will borrow the jumpropes for girls sports.

Nairobi Fly 11-12-13

The dry season is over, and the wet season is here.  Burundi experience a wetter dry season then normal, and now is experiencing a drier wet season than normal.  The corn is growing, and the bean sprouts are already starting to come up.  Along with the rain has come some interesting insects.  

 For awhile, house flies were also a nuisance in the city.  But, I guess that's expected when cattle and goats roam around in the area.

After some rains, termites will come out.  They come in the evening and are attracted to lights.  They come, and then they seem to die naturally.  They haven't caused structural problems as far as I know, so that is good.  Normally, there aren't that many termites.  Last week, we had a ton!  Someone left the staff room open after sunset.  The termites covered the tables and the floors.

This week, I learned about something new.  There is a beetle called the Nairobi fly.  It hatches from rotting leaves after times of abundant rain.  It's small...about 6 to 10 mm in size.  The circulatory system is toxic, like acid.  If you squish the beetle on your skin, the toxin will hurt you, sometimes severely.  Some people accidently kill them in their sleep, then wake up to find they have a wound from the toxin.  One of my favorite students must have closed his elbow on one when he was sleeping.  Below are some pictures of his arm.  

Another staff member this weekend probably killed one or two while she was sleeping.  She has blisters around her eye, and a hole in her neck.  She found one of the flies and taped it to the staff white board with a warning about the bug.  I will have to remember...when something lands on me to brush it off.  Don't swat!

Nairobi Fly

The inside of my student's elbow.

 

Some references:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070128130446/http://edition.cnn.com/EARTH/9801/26/kenya.beetle.ap/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi_fly