Newsletter Articles
Rebuilding Hope, and Homes, for the People of Burundi
Florrie Byrd, Associate Editor
Youth in Reconstruction of a World in Destruction(YRWD) is a non-profit organization based in the Central African country of Burundi. YRWD’s mission is to restore hope and peace in this war-torn nation. YRWD has forged a partnership with the Heritage Institute, a humanitarian group based in Washington State, to build homes, promote understanding and foster youth leadership.
The people whom YRWD serve in Burundi are without shelter or food, refugees in their own homeland. Some are widows and orphans of war and the AIDS epidemic. In a dire situation like this, when basic needs are unmet, human beings cannot begin to contemplate making greater change in the world around them. If we hope to make strides toward greater goals of peace and education, the first step is to fill these fundamental needs.
In the war-torn district of Carama, near the capital city of Bujumbura, hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Virtually no one lives in Carama now, but area families are working with YRWD to build 800 new homes that are expected to house nearly 6,000 people. YRWD’s field team of 20 volunteers offer technical guidance, as well as materials like roofing, beams, doors, windows, and cement. The use of local mud for bricks and indigenous trees for beams makes these housing plans extremely cost-effective. It’s a system that could easily be replicated in other regions of Burundi and beyond. The emphasis on families working together helps to build a sense of community.
In addition to raising funds for home-building, YRWD is working to foster youth leadership. The AfricaAmericaExchange program, which launched in October 2004, links students and teachers in Burundi with those in America. School groups in both countries collaborate on service projects and communicate via the internet. Presently, six secondary schools in Bujumbura and six schools in Washington state are working on projects to benefit their own or the larger world community, while using Yahoo Groups as a forum for sharing and discussion. YRWD also has plans to send groups of Americans and Europeans on citizen diplomacy missions in Burundi and other countries in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa to participate in peace-building activities.
In August 2004, YRWD hosted a youth leadership conference in Bujumbura. The purpose of the conference was to brainstorm a model for peace-building. It turned out to be a truly spirit-filled event, with a group of 71 young people from Burundi, Kenya and the Congo attending. During these two days, a model clearly emerged. Since 86 percent of Burundi is Christian (primarily Catholic), attendees saw a great opportunity in approaching local churches for help. Shared spirituality and values created a great sense of community over the two-day conference.
YRWD has made great strides since its inception in 1994. The organization has rebuilt 1,500 homes and worked to promote peace in the Burundian community. They organized a youth congress in 1995, which brought together over 1,000 participants from Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Kenya, and South Africa. They publish a bilingual monthly newspaper (published in French and the native language of Kirundi) called Source of Hope.
Between now and 2009, YRWD plans to develop leaders, build thousands more homes for displaced Burundians, and become a beacon of peace and justice for Burundi and the rest of this war-torn region of Africa.
Many young people have the desire to rebuild their world, but few are truly committed and determined to make it happen. If we work together – each using our own talents in our own way – we can truly make a difference. If you are not already one of our supporters and feel moved to help us through prayer or monetary donation, please contact us.
For YRWD: Prosper Ndabishuriye, General Coordinator
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Comments on this Entry:
I met Prosper Ndabishuriye at a coaches training event at Changing Church Forum in 2003. He and I have stayed in touch and I have been quite impressed with his witness. Prosper is a lay leader who has felt the call of Christ in his life, and has built YRWD in response to that call. I hope we can help open doors for him in the US for this worthy cause.
The next comment is a Christmas appeal from Prosper to help finish building homes for 300 families.
Posted by: Gregg Burch at November 18, 2004 10:20 AM
Dear Friends in rebuilding hope and homes,
Greetings to you from JRMD/YRWD Office in Bujumbura.
I am writing you this note, just to inform you about the progress we are making for Carama rebuilding homes project and for the present need, in order to shelter 314 families in 314 houses of the 800 homes for 800 families that we are building at Carama. At this time I am writing you this note, I am very happy to inform you that 314 homes have been covered with metal sheet, but in order to shelter 314 families in those houses, we need 628 doors and 1256 windows, which would cost $27,946 USD. To help a family move in a house, we need 2 doors and 4 windows which would cost $89. If you feel able to make a contribution in order to help widows and orphans move in those houses tha have been covered with metal sheets, please de not hesitate to do it.
We thank you so much for your prayers and financial support toward those families who do not have where to live.
Yours in His Love and Grace,
Prosper Ndabishuriye
Posted by: Prosper Ndabishuriye at December 6, 2004 05:20 PM
Dear Gregg Burch,
It has been good to get to know you and share with you about our work of rebuilding hope and homes for the people of Burundi; a country which has been going through ethnic conflicts, killings and war.
We are back to Washington State, at Whidey Island, after three weeks of traveling and sharing and making presentation in different places and to different groupes, including churches.
The people that I have been meeting and continue to meet during my trip together with Mike Seymour have shown and continue to confirm me that we are not alone in rebuilding hope and comes for the people of Burundi. All the people that I had the opportunity and privilege to meet, showed me the heart and love in action that they have for the suffering people. I am very thankful to each and every one of you for your different contributions towards the work of rebuilding hope and homes for the victims of the war, that we are doing in Burundi. Some of you are praying for our ministry in Burundi, others have been contributing financially and others have been housing me and Mike Seymour during our visits that we are making in different areas. May God bless you in a very special way.
Together with my colleague Mike Seymour, we continue to visit and meet different people and share with them about our ministry of sharing the love of Christ in action; a work that gives hope to the hopeless people of Burundi.
Yes, we need each other because we live in a World which is geographically one, knowing that any good thing done, small or big, contributes to the healing of the wounds that the World is suffering today.
Thank you for joining us in this Mission of giving Hope to the hopeless people of Burundi.
Yours in His Love and Grace,
Prosper Ndabishuriye
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JRMD/YRWD
B.P. 2366
BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI
TELEPHONE: (257) 920 609
Website: www.jrmd.org
Website: www.hol.edu/aax
Do not be discouraged when things do not go as you had planed, because what is not possible today, will be possible tomorrow.
Posted by: Prosper Ndabishuriye at February 13, 2005 08:18 PM
Dear Friends:
Prosper Ndabishuriye is now happily back in Bujumbura, Burundi after more than two, very active and wonderful months touring the USA with me. We connected with so many people all over the US-- from Florida, to Georgia, Washington, D.C., New York, Hartford, Great Barrington, Boston and Falmouth Mass., San Francisco and Oakland and back to greater Seattle--not to speak of the many school presentations in Washington state. Whew!!
Hearts were open literally everywhere we went!!
So it is with great pleasure that I let you all know of my invitation to join me on my November, 2005 trip to Burundi where--with a team of students and others--we will spend 10 days. We will be part of a conference on peace, work with refugees on home-building, hear talks from cultural experts, meet with government officials and representatives of the UN peace-keeping force, and build relationships with the growing numbers of youth and Prosper's wide network who are invovled in bringing peace to Burundi.
Please visit the site of the our educational project linking US and Burundi students-- which is called the AfricaAmericaExchange. You'll find on the home page two links at the bottom of the page for either a pdf file or a MSWord file--both of which take some time to download, so be patient. Avoid downloading if you are on a dial-up connection. Let me know if you need me to send you a hard copy in the regular mail.
Web address for the download is:
http://www.hol.edu/aax/
Be well and at peace, and I hope you can join us this November.
Yours,
Mike Seymour
Youth for a New World
&
The Heritage Institute
Posted by: Mike Seymour at March 29, 2005 10:48 AM
Hello Prosper,
My name is Jeremy Self. I am going to be traveling from the US to Bujumbra, Burundi in several weeks to minister to some pastors and church leader's. I just read your article on the Transforming Church website. It is awesome to see what God is doing through you.
I would love to meet you and possibly even have you share about your ministry with the pastors I will be working with. I don't know if you'd be interested in doing something like that. You can let me know if you are.
God bless you for your "Kingdom" building!
Jeremy Self
Posted by: Jeremy Self at April 7, 2005 12:42 AM
Dear TransformingChurch.com Friends,
I am very happy to inform you that the Board of World
Computer Exchange agreed to donate 420 used computers.
Those computers will help the schools and the youth in
Burundi make a step forward. This project will give
the schools of Burundi and the youth the opportunity
to exchange and share about building a better place in
which we can live in peace and not in peace. I am very
thankful to God and to the Board of World Computer
Exchange.
To ship those computers to Burundi, we have to raise
around $25,000. We do hope and believe that God will
provide for this need.
Yours in His Love and Grace,
Prosper Ndabishuriye
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JRMD/YRWD
B.P. 2366
BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI
TELEPHONE: (257) 920 609
Email: info@jrmd.org or ndapros@yahoo.fr
Website: www.jrmd.org
Website: www.hol.edu/aax
Posted by: Prosper Ndabishuriye at April 25, 2005 10:44 AM
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