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If you’re a regular blog follower, you’ll recall some of my previous entries pertaining to Sabe Village. It houses almost 1500 people; prostitution is common to provide food for the empty bellies waiting at home. Drunkenness is also very common; can’t say I blame them. (The home made banana beer is known to cause blindness, but at least it numbs their sorrows for a few hours.) What with the life they’ve lived for many, many years, with no glimmer of hope in their lives. I mean, if they aren’t living for Jesus, why even get up in the morning??
This might sound depressing; it is. These people live in almost unthinkable conditions. Their tiny plot should house probably no more than 4 families if they would have average Canadian size yards. But there are 400 families crammed into that space. The houses are about 1 foot apart from each other. They are the size of a small washroom - perhaps 4”x6”; I don’t think any bigger. The walls are made of sticks covered with mud; the roof - any plastic garbage bag or other ‘usable’ garbage.
They have no washroom facility; you really watch your step when you walk in the village.
There is a swamp a few feet beside the outside row of huts with standing green water; perfect mosquito breeding grounds. Malaria has claimed many lives.
Till September 2010 there was no school, but Honda and Libby hired 2 local teachers, who now teach a few age groups. Not perfect, but so much better than nothing. The kids can’t go to public school because they don’t have money to buy a school uniform. A locally made uniform costs about $10.00.
The kids have no toys; none. Little boys improvise with clay bricks instead of pushing big yellow Tonka trucks around in the dirt. Or they take an empty jug and tie something on to it and drag it around.
Well, as I said earlier, I’ve written about Sabe before and some family members have sent money for the village on a number of occasions. Last week someone sent enough to buy almost 2 tonnes of food. So, last Friday afternoon, together with some of our friends we packaged 1000 kgs. of beans, 1000 kgs. of bugali flour (a staple in Burundi, made from maize, or from cassava root), 200 kgs. of salt, and 1200 bars of locally made soap.
On Saturday morning it was off to the village. Honda had already alerted the villagers about our visit the day before. He organized everything really well, and had given the women a ticket which they had to present upon receiving the food. This prevented them from going through the line more than once. (Though one in particular tried again and again to get more.)
What a joy to see how grateful these moms where. Food for the children!! For their family!! They started singing and dancing. After another prayer by Honda, the women balanced their treasure on their heads and left, all the while singing and smiling for the mzungu with the camera.
I am very happy to tell you that the UN has responded to the plight of these people, and on Monday, 2 days ago, the UN moved the entire village to higher ground.
After being flooded out again a few weeks ago, finally someone realized that something had to be done on a much larger scale than was possible for Honda and Libby.
They are now temporarily residing in 12 very long UN tarp tents, one beside the other; men on one side, women the other. This arrangement we were told is for three months till a permanent location can be found.
We found out about the impending move 2 or 3 days prior to the food distribution.
Pray that an ideal location will be secured for the village. Each family is to receive a plot about 15 meters squared. Subsistence farming on this land will provide for the people.
I’m so very thankful that these people are getting a bigger reason to get up in the morning… Who knows, perhaps the banana beer will no longer blind their eyes, physical nor spiritual….
