Survival. Hunger. Poverty

Survival. Hunger. Poverty.
Words that can stay theoretical and abstract until you meet the person experiencing them.
More accurately: Words that have stayed theoretical to me until I met someone experiencing them.

I met Katherine Nibaruta on March 29, 2007— the day World Relief distributed 35,000 kilos of beans in the northern Burundian province of Kayanza. The 1,500 people to receive the beans were all from the Kabarore Zone and came together eagerly and thankfully at the Kabarore Primary School to collect the promised food. Thousands of dark faces, bright smiles, and colorfully arrayed women greeted us. Katherine was one of them.

She came from a family who had lived in the Kabarore Zone of Kayanza, Burundi, for generations. It is a land of tall hills, bright green fields of tea, and stretches of wide-leafed banana trees. The land is so beautiful and so lush, one is struck by the contrast of the beauty of the land and the great poverty of the people residing in it. Katherine’s family had farmed that land for years— growing sweet potatoes, beans, corn, bananas, and avocadoes. But now, even though the land appears green and fertile, it is actually desolate. The excess rains and floods, and then lack of rains, have destroyed their crops. The soil is infertile, and they have no manure to nourish it and give the soil the nutrients it needs.

On March 29, when I met her, Katherine had no money in her small, dirt-floor home. She said money went only to the strong who can work for food. At 55, she is considered elderly by her community and can no longer work to earn money to buy the food that is so expensive in the local markets. She had no food in her home. The banana trees were too old and no longer produced fruit. The avocadoes and potatoes and corn were ruined by the rains. Only a few beans and bean leaves from her garden to sustain herself, her ailing husband, and their four remaining children

Unfortunately (and true of many Burundian families), this was not the first time Katherine and her family have been in such a dire situation. As a child, Katherine grew up in a nearby home with two sisters and two brothers. Her childhood was filled with typical Burundian home activities— fetching water, cooking, and cleaning. As a young girl, she attended Catholic school for five years, receiving only a basic elementary education.

Katherine married at the age of 20, the second wife of her husband Juvenal. His first wife had nine children. Katherine bore eight, but only three of her own survived. The war in Burundi was the beginning of hardships for Katherine and her family. The cows that they used for milk and manure (for the soil) were stolen. The military took up position right behind her house to protect their village, but they still were forced to flee several times to Rwanda.

And now, with the inconsistent weather and food shortage, Katherine’s situation seems bleak. She received a bag of beans from the food distribution which she is thankful for and brings a bit of respite. 23 kilos of beans. 10 days of food— one meager meal once a day in the evening. I asked her about her future, and she said she could not really see her future. She says, “I have no hope for food, for my future.”

And Katherine is only one story— one real person that has changed my thinking of survival and hunger and poverty from a trite theory to a sad and terrible reality.

The other 1,500 people that received food that day all have stories and situations that parallel Katherine’s. They came to the school that day from nine surrounding hills, invited by the leaders of their communities including the nine local chiefs, an array of national and local security, and nine pastors who partner with World Relief to bring aid to the people. These nine pastors came together from a range of denominations— Catholic, Baptist, Pentacostal, and Assemblies of God— partnering with World Relief for the sake of their people. As the crowd gathered to collect the food, one of the pastors addressed them. He spoke about creating hope for the future and encouraged them, saying that Christians in America know of their need, have given money to help them (through World Relief), and are praying for them in their hardship. In response, the people of Kabarore were thankful. They waved and shook our hands in a gesture of gratefulness. But their struggle to fight hunger, poverty, and to survive will continue. Katherine’s struggle will continue. This is no longer theoretical.

To find out more about the work of World Relief in response to the crisis in Burundi or to donate to our work, click here.