A Glance at Life in Burundi

I know it is hard to pay attention to dire needs when they are so far removed from our daily reality. How does my $50 help anything?  It is impossible to understand exactly what it means that there are fuel shortages there. We see pictures of barefoot people trudging along muddy roads, so why do they need fuel?  


The following is a short prayer request from one of the doctors we got to briefly serve with when we visited Burundi 3 years ago.  There is a connection here for me, as Eika and I did kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) for preemie newborns, before they had incubators.  We dropper-fed a set of 2-lb twins, because they had no feeding tubes, and they were too small and weak to suck.  Out of the 6 newborns we helped with, 2 died by the end of the week. We won't forget those faces.


From Dr. Alyssa Pfister: Please pray for fuel in Burundi. It's difficult to get supplies for the hospital without it and our already limited electricity situation is made worse by not having diesel for the generator. This little baby is one of many who is having trouble keeping warm without enough power for the incubators. And her mama can't do kangaroo care because of illness. Pray for hope and a quick solution in what seems like a hopeless situation. (Picture of fuel lines in Buja courtesy of Simon Guillebaud)


Dr. 

Biking for Burundi fundraising update

Wow, barely 4 weeks left before I head to Rwanda for 10 days (7 of which will be spent on the saddle of my bike pushing up and screaming down the steep hills)!!!  I just picked up my anti-malarial medications from the pharmacy, and tomorrow's weather looks good so I have a 60 mile training ride planned.

My fundraising goal has been $10,000 and to date I'm up to $7,295!!!  Here's something cool: the very first supporter is a friend of mine who donated $500 with a promise to double his donation if I reach $7,000 (not including his first donation).  That means I'm only $205 away from another $500 towards evangelism, development, and aid for Burundi!

Let's chip in to meet that threshold!!!  Here's the fundraising site:

https://www.youcaring.com/greatlakesoutreach-769532

Solutions in a Nation of Hunger

For the last few years Burundi has consistently been ranked the "Hungriest Country in the World" by the World Food Program. As one of the poorest countries in the world, 90-95% of Burundians spend less than $2 on food per day. Over 60% of the population is chronically malnourished and disease is rampant. After a decade long civil war Burundi has struggled to stabilize and rebuild, but there are people doing some amazing and inspirational work to help resolve hunger and bring economic development to this beautiful country.

When our family was in Burundi in 2014 we met Evariste, a Burundian man who is working to get high yielding Friesian milk cows into the hands of poor farmers and families. The traditional long horned Ankole cows of Burundi only produce about 1 liter of milk daily and require extensive grazing. Young children are often put in charge of grazing the cattle, which in turn, keeps the children out of school. But the more robust Friesian cows don't require grazing and can produce over 10 liters of milk daily. Over 400 Friesian cows have now been imported from Tanzania and families and villages are being revitalized. Read more about it on their website here and watch the video below

This is one of the programs your supporting when you donate towards my upcoming cycling "Tour du Burundi." 100% of your donation goes to support the development work in Burundi and is tax deductible. I'm paying my own way and my own expenses. Here's the donation page, it is quick and easy to donate: https://www.youcaring.com/greatlakesoutreach-769532

My departure is now only 7 weeks away and I would love to see your support!
Hank

77 day countdown--how I'm training.

Three months from now I'll already be back and (hopefully) recovered from jet lag from the Tour du Burundi. I'll leave home on May 24th, arriving in Kigali, Rwanda late on May 25th after 24 hours of travel time. There will be a day to acclimate and the tour will begin on May 27th and over 7 days we'll cover 470 miles and climb a total of 49,000 feet. The tour will finish on June 2nd and I'll fly out of Rwanda on June 3rd returning home on June 4th after another 24+ hours of travel time. Whew!!!

We still have snow on the ground here at home so I've been logging miles with my bike mounted on a trainer.

I've been using a great motivating training program called Zwift, riding in real time with other cyclists the world over. Here's what it looks like:

I've logged about 400 miles indoors so far this year. I can't wait for the weather to turn warmer so I can start riding outside again. My cycling partner, Josh Sherven, and I have some longer routes planned as soon as we can.

Riding is cathartic for me, and often when I can clear my mind of the stresses of my day, I think and pray about the great needs half a world away. Burundi, the poorest of countries, has such great promise. There is endless opportunity there for growth and renewal, and your support, no matter how small or large, will affect wonderful change for the Burundian people.

Please consider a gift in support of the work happening through Great Lakes Outreach (GLO). I've just set up a new funding account through youcaring.com. Youcaring doesn't take a commission so 100% of your gift goes directly to GLO, plus your donation is tax deductible.

Take a moment to go to youcaring and make a contribution: https://www.youcaring.com/greatlakesoutreach-769532

Thanks, and I"ll keep you all updated!

Hank

Biking for Burundi

Its been nearly 3 years since our trip to Burundi--dentistry, helping at the missions hospital, fellowship with our friends--we're here in Idaho long term, but we left a piece of our hearts back there. How can we help, what can we do to serve the poorest of the poor? While it isn't in the plans for us to live and work in Burundi, we can be advocates for the work and revitalization that is happening there, bringing the needs of this poorest of countries to the attention of others.

Let me back up a bit. Burundi? Where's that? A small country in East-Central Africa, South of Rwanda, Burundi is the poorest of the poor. Ranked the "hungriest nation" by the IMF/World Bank, Burundi has struggled to climb out of and heal from a horrific genocide/civil war in the late 90s and early 2000s. Peace and stability is tenuous and uncertain--there has been an attempted coup, rioting is common, grenade launchers and gunfire can be heard in the capital at night, unemployment is unimaginably high. Malnutrition and a short life expectancy is the norm.

And yet, there is hope.

While we were in Burundi we got to know Simon Guillebaud, a British missionary who has been in Burundi for nearly 20 years, working with Great Lakes Outreach (GLO) on helping the people heal and grow into the vibrant nation that they can be. Simon has helped develop a program to empower street kids, an English speaking boarding school to train and teach the next generation of Burundian leaders, a high-yielding dairy cow program to tackle malnutrition, among other efforts and programs. Check out this video.

In an effort to raise awareness of the great needs in Burundi, and as a fundraiser, Simon also coordinates a 450 mile bicycling "Tour Du Burundi" in which I will be participating. From May 26th to June 2nd I and about a dozen others from Europe and the US will be cycling through the hills of East Africa, covering 450 miles and approximately 49,000 vertical feet. Due to the political instability in Burundi the ride will be held in Rwanda.

Burundi needs your support. My goal is to raise $10,000, all of which will go to the development projects led by Simon and GLO. I'll pay my own airfare, lodging, and meals. Donations are tax deductible.

You can donate by sending a check with "Hank Willis, Bike Tour" in the memo line to:
Great Lakes Outreach
PO Box 2379
Mt Pleasant, SC 29465

Alternatively, you can donate online through my youcaring.com site:
https://www.youcaring.com/greatlakesoutreach-769532

Thanks for your support and I plan to bring periodic updates as the date draws closer. I may not be able to update during the tour, but I'll certainly post a report with photos afterwards.

Here's a great PDF with more details on the ride and where the support goes.