Visco Vincent Miburo is the Fullstature Missions International Missionary Representative in Burundi. He was born at Marangara Commune of Ngozi Province in Burundi. He was under the tutelage of Missionary Adekunle Adenipekun as a missions operation officer from 2013 to 2019 until 2021 when he officially became the Missionary representative of the FMI.
God is praised and thanked for how He has shown us mercy and has been gracious to give us strength to do this work in Burundi. We have been serving God in diverse dimension in the region of Gitega and its surroundings. We work among the Batwa Communities, the most adjudged unreached and neglected people in Burundi.
In Gitega, there has been a synergy between us and the Gitega Maranatha Gospel Church. At some points, the pastor has been going out with us to reach out to the people whenever he has time. And at some point when he has no time, he sent some of his members to go with us.
The people of Zege Batwa Community are poor people. They expect and envisage that visitors coming to their community will definitely come with something for them. At times, they sleep hungry and at times, their children don’t go to school all because of lack of food or other basic needs.
Fortunately, this community loves to hear the Gospel. They are very receptive. But most of the time, they are women and children. Men are not around. They go to town to find work to do just to provide for their families. However, they don’t earn much. They just try to survive.
We have also been empowering jobless people with small capital to do small businesses as we teach them to work with their hands by starting little businesses and make profit to be able to meet their basic needs.
Some have started selling yellow banana, others have decided to start with sugarcane. Some of them have failed but others still continue and at least others were able to do something else after making their businesses grow.
At the beginning, this woman with three children had nothing to do. She could stay at home waiting for her husband to bring food, and he even came back home empty-handed sometimes. She came to me and asked for BIF 10,000 as a capital to start roasting maize at the road. But after just a few days, she suffered loss and lost everything with no gain. She came back to me the second time, I proposed to her that I will be providing banana for her to sell, then I will be keeping her percentage. When the money is enough to buy her own banana she will collect it. She accepted and started to sell my yellow banana and count her 20% of what she sold. After some weeks, she was able to raise her own capital and started her own banana business. Today, she no longer sells banana, she went and hired a block in the market and now she’s selling Irish potatoes from there. Her business has grown.
These 8 young maidens started sugarcane business with a little capital. It’s only two of them who asked to be given BIF 5,000 each to start with. Others started with BIF 3,000 and even some with BIF 2,000. But all their businesses have grown and they continue selling sugarcane .
When teaching women who are undergoing discipleship classes, their children always like to come and join their mothers and listen to the word. But we decided to arrange their own program, particularly for them as children, a Bible Club for them. Then when it is time for the discipleship for their parents, we still let them join because it is the word of God and they will not accept to let their mothers be. The discipleship for adults is on Friday and the Bible Club for Batwa children is on Saturday.
The first day we called the children to start this program as their own program, they were just eight children, but those who gave their lives to Jesus were more than 50. But, as we went on, their parents were sending them to the program because they started hearing what other children were reciting from the teaching they got. Now the number has grown to 35 children. The only challenge I have is that sometimes, I am not able to provide all their needs as they expect. All their eyes are on me to meet their needs, and even their parents send them to me.
This is the Bible Club that grew faster because some were coming from other quarters, a bit far from Mushasha, having been invited by their friends. On their parents’ requests, I had to separate them, because they had to attend the program on Wednesday at 5pm after their school and we spend only 40 minutes for the program and they will still get home late in the dark. Those who are in Mushasha and its surroundings remained in Mushasha, and those who come from other places like Nyabisindu and Bwoga need their own programs; that will mean two other Bible Clubs holding on Tuesday and Thursday at 5pm. I need a bicycle to meet up with these tasks.
More blessings
Shalom! Shalom!
Report by: Visco Vincent Miburo.