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Greetings!

I’ve spent the last half-hour trying not to cry…

…I’m in a meeting with folks I journeyed with for twenty years, who are sharing reminiscences of (mostly) highs and (some) lows that we experienced together. And currently they’re battling through some really tough times.

My two biggest prayers for Burundi this year – once the pandemic struck – was that Burundi would be spared the worst of covid, and that the elections would go peacefully. For your encouragement, those prayers have both been massively answered. It genuinely seems like covid is not having an impact here – a few have got it, and all bar one have recovered, officially. Praise God! Truly, I’m so grateful to God and the many who prayed for both those things (and we had a definite and beautiful role to play in the peaceful elections).

But as with so much of the developing world, the economic impact has done far more damage than the disease itself.

Celestin and I shared an office for 5 years at our income-generating King’s Conference Centre (www.kccburundi.org). He quietly asks me for a chat and says he’s speaking on behalf of the staff, several of whom I observed on arrival were noticeably thinner. Due to covid and loss of business, either some workers had to be let go, or everyone would have to take a salary reduction. They decided to stick together, but everyone has had a 40% cut. Imagine your salary was $100/month, and now it’s $60… and food prices have gone up! “Simon, it’s desperate. We can’t afford the bus so are walking each day in the sun all the way, some of us from Buterere or Kinama and back (upwards of 20km).”

It turns out one of the ladies on the team was pregnant, and she miscarried a few days ago as she struggled to walk to work.

Burundians have suffered so much. So many are beautifully stoic, resilient, and full of faith. They will overcome these difficult days, because they always do. They have so much to teach us in the fracturing West, where increasing prosperity and entitlement have not fostered resilience, rather polarisation and victimhood.

Are you feeling resilient?

How will we in the West get through these difficult days?

One answer to that question came from Leocadie last night as we chatted. She said:

“It’s only by grace. We survive each day by grace. Every month, every day, it’s just God’s grace…”

God grant you all such deep and real grace through these challenging times!

Simon Guillebaud in Burundi

PS If you wanted to help the 30 staff recoup those losses (no pressure at all), you could donate here:

www.greatlakesoutreach.org/donate

Please let us know that this is ‘For KCC Staff’ in the message section of the donation form. In the happy event that we meet our goal to help the 30 staff, any additional donations will be put to equally invaluable use, where most needed.

Through the incredible generosity of so many of you, we were able to supply 615 GLO-related families with a chunky gift to help them with buying school uniforms and stationery, and getting their kids back to school. Just wonderful!

So on behalf of all the parents and children, THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!

GLO’s Grace went to visit our partner New Generation to film this ‘thank you’ video so that you can catch some of the joy of kids being able to go to school. It’s less than a minute, and might just bring a tear (of joy) to your eye.

New Generation is a great outfit working with street children and seeking to raise up leaders for the country. Do check out their work here

THANKS AGAIN! We couldn’t do it without you. God bless you LOADS!

Simon

PS It’s not too late to give if you hadn’t got round to it. If that’s you, please click here

Leo walked 12 miles each way to and from school every day, so desperate was he to learn. That blows my mind. In the West, we’re not usually as grateful for the gift of education (although lockdown frustrations have maybe changed that a little). Recognising Leo’s commitment, we bought him a bicycle to save both time and energy. He is so deeply thankful.

Many of my friends in Burundi during their childhood would walk 2-3 hours a day to and from the nearest school. Education is power, education is the future, education is the hope of a better life. So you sacrifice everything for it.

But this coming Monday morning is the saddest day of the year for many parents. It’s the day their children should go back to school. However, if they can’t afford the basic uniform and pen/paper pad, they can’t go.

As I packed my three kids off to school this morning, it occurred afresh to me that it’s never crossed my mind that all of them wouldn’t be able to go to school. Can you imagine having to choose one over the others? Or accepting that none can go at all?

Sometimes God intervenes beautifully, as our volunteer Maria testified recently. She’d all but given up on her three children’s chances of going to school, but she got on her knees and prayed. An old friend out of the blue contacted her and gave her an envelope of money which was enough for her urgent needs. She will never forget God’s faithfulness.

GLO’s partner organisations include 615 staff. We are under no obligation to them in this regard, but we’ve committed to giving £30 ($40) per family so that, at this the most challenging time of the year financially, they can pull through and keep their precious kids in schooling. In a sense we want to be Maria’s God-envelope of cash out of the blue for 615 families.

Do you want to be a part of it? Zero pressure if you are financially strapped, as I know many people are at this time.

If yes, be it for 1 family, or 2, or 5, or 10, click here to donate.

God bless you so much for your generosity!

Simon

PS In the happy event that we meet our goal to send gifts to all our 615 families, any additional donations will be put to equally invaluable use.