Peace Nihorimbere, WOGA Director for Central Africa Region to visit US in March

Peace Nihorimbere

"Thank you for making Burundi known in America and around the world." Peace to Emily Voorhies, Executive Director of WOGA

This March, WOGA's Central Africa Director, Peace Nihorimbere, will be visiting WOGA Chapters in Los Angeles, Houston and Tampa Bay.

Peace is a survivor of the genocide in her native Burundi. After living as refugees with her family in Canada, Peace was directed by the Lord to return to Burundi to help rebuild this nation.

Since then she has begun programs to nourish, both physically and spiritually, AIDS and genocide widows in Burundi and in Rwanda. In these programs, women are trained in microenterprise skills within two businesses - tailoring and hair-styling. Following is a story from one of the women in this program:

• Theresa, from a slum area, had never owned more than one outfit at a time. The last thing she dreamed of was being able to make a dress for herself or for her children. Now she makes dresses for sale and can even make her own clothes. She is confident for her future. She says she was blind but now she can see.

We rejoice over the hope that these women are finding as they come to know the Lord who created them and as they learn skills to support their families. This kind of hope and healing is critical for the women of these nations.

In Burundi, the World Bank estimates that the gross national product (GNP) per capita, which is a measure of national income per person per year, is the equivalent of $90US. This means that daily, many people in Burundi are living on far less than the $1 that is the global standard for absolute poverty. Although $1 will go further in Burundi than it will in the US, it does not go far enough to take good care of a family. For instance, a 1.5 pound bag of beans in Burundi costs almost 70 cents. So if a mother is earning the national average, her income will be enough to buy less than one bag of beans a day.

If you are located in LA, Houston or Tampa Bay, come and hear Peace speak to our WOGA Chapters. The Los Angeles meeting will be held during the morning of March 8. Details will be posted in the Upcoming Events section closer to the date. If you would like to support the work with widows in Burundi and Rwanda, go to the Global Action website at: www.globalaction.nu