Displaying items by tag: Burundi

Fifteen years of civil war, combined with extreme poverty, a fragile political process and recurrent climatic shocks, have impacted strongly on Burundi’s economy and nutrition. Only 28% of the population have a sufficient, nutritious diet all year round and 58% percent are chronically malnourished. Food security for the majority of Burundians has not improved in recent years, despite a gradual return to peace. With a population growth rate of nearly 3% per annum and agricultural production having declined by 24% since the civil war began, people are going hungry. Even during the harvest season, families spend up to two-thirds of their income on food. Burundi is one of the countries identified by both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) as being among the most affected by soaring food prices. After so many years of conflict, the capacity of the government to respond to this new challenge is limited.

A worker for Christ wanted to write about recent news, but didn’t. Firstly it was too depressing, and secondly there was a fear of information getting into the wrong hands with the possibility of personal danger. The desperation is to get people praying. Asked for their greatest fears, most replied, ‘being hacked to death and wasting away through starvation.’ Burundi has the highest rate of malnutrition in the world. The worker and colleagues need prayers for protection and wisdom in complex situations. He write: ‘“Why are you still here?” Because God calls us to weep with those who weep, to be a voice for the voiceless and to “not love our lives so much as to shrink from death”. (Rev 12:11) “How do you see things going?” Not well in human terms but, through the eyes of faith, I still believe that God is on His throne and that the Church is the hope of the world as He has stationed His best troops in Burundi. “What about your family?” We have agreed to live by faith, and want to model this to our children as we stand alongside the precious suffering Burundi community. Will you stand with us in prayer, if you have the emotional energy? I am here, amongst other things, to fly the flag for Burundi. Can you see it waving? It’s small, soiled, stinking, fear-ridden, torn, blood-and-tear-stained, but look more closely….that is not the whole story.’ See also