Hope Centre Christmas Party 2009:

The Hope Centre kids, with 72 other local kids from the surrounding homes enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner on Christmas Day.  Most of the families around Mutimbuzi near Bujumbura are refugee returnees from Congo and Tanzania and so are extremely poor.   For some years Mission International has provided The BIG Meal for the children of what is now the Hope Centre, however now that the children have UK sponsors provision is made for a Christmas party.   The sponsors donate a small pool of money which can be used for the Christmas party.   This year Pastor Leonard invited some of the poorest kids from the area who came along and enjoyed the meal with the Hope Centre kids making it a very special day for them all.

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Plan for sustainability:

Part of the plan for sustainability at the Hope Centre is that the whole family learn and work together to build up income generating projects so that they will not me reliant on Mission International forever.   The children are not being allowed just to sit expecting to be looked after for the rest of their lives, no, they are being trained to be responsible and they are learning new skills all of the time.

"Train up a child..."

A good example of this kind of training is the small agricultural project which has been set up within the grounds of the Hope Centre complex where the children can get involved in producing some food for them selves.   Small gardens of cabbages and onions etc. are now producing food for the whole family.

"A little child shall lead them..."
Even the little ones are able to do something, here they are checking out which are the biggest onions and ready for harvest, and then they can have a go at pulling them up and carrying them back to the house for use or for sale in the market.

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Fragile but encouraging:

House four is on its way to completion at the Hope Centre in Burundi.   The country is a peace for the first time in 14 years and life is beginning to hold some hope for the children.   The pictures show the children getting on with some chores around the compound.   Clearing up and sweeping the area surrounding the homes.   Children who have lost everything including every member of their family can now see the opportunities that lie before them.   It is important for them to learn how to look after themselves.   It is important that they learn skills for self sustaining life.   Mission international may not be around forever.   Pastor leonard and the workers at the Hope Centre have received the message that no-one at the can expect to be looked after all of their lives.   There is work to be done, there is a country to rebuild, there is afuture to look forward to.

Of course chores are not the only agenda for the children.   Some have school work to do, homework and projects or assignments to work on and so life is never dull.

Please continue to pray for this large and extended family.   National elections are coming up in July 2010, these times can be worrying in a fragile democracy such as in vogue in Burundi.   Many political factions hope to draw young people into conflict and civil unrest as they try to gain power and influence in government.   Please pray that none of the youth in Burundi are deceived by those bent on violence and bloodshed.

Power to the people!

The Hope Centre has recently had electricity connected so that the family will have modern light and power for the very first time. The picture show the homes being connected and electricity board people climbing up poles to connect the homes into the national grid.

To support the work at the Hope Centre please use the finance options on the right hand column of this page.

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House 4 heads towards completion:

A grateful extended family:

We are very grateful, as are the children and Pastor Leonard and his wife Jolie who supervise the children, that the homes at the Hope Centre in Burundi are moving on. Four out of the proposed six homes are almost complete after which a boundary wall will be built to provide further security to the Centre.

What Next?

It is hoped that we can build a medical centre and a skills centre on the remaining land owned by the Hope Centre. This will provide some much needed support to the community, many of whom are refugee returnees from Tanzania and DR Cong0, after peace has been achieved in Burundi.

Your support:

If you would like to support the work of Mission International in the Hope Centre, please use the options (One off donation or regular giving/bank mandate or by PayPal) on the right hand column of this page. To discuss the Hope Centre please contact us on mail@mission-international.org

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More progress at Hope Centre!

Added to the progress in contstuction of house number 4, some simple ideas have been turned into income generating projects at the Hope Centre in Burundi.

Below house number 4 moves ahead towards completion.

The grounds around the homes have been turned into productive gardens, producing wonderful vegetables for the children to eat and some extra for sale to generate some extra income for the project.

Marrows and courgettes are harvested for consumption by the family and for sale.

Here the children harvest some cabbages and there are many more for consumption and for sale behind them.

Sustainability built in:

Projects aim for long term sustainability:

Now that the Hope Centre kids are coming back together at the Centre after having been looked after by others during the time the building work was going on we can begin to put in place some projects which will focus on long term sustainability. Recent donations of a few hundred pounds have made it possible to begin these projects.

• Goat project
• Cow project
• Chicken project
• Agricultural project

If you would like to support the Hope Centre in Burundi please use the options on the right sidebar of this page.

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