The Burundi Blogger: the view from Mt. Songa

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

the view from Mt. Songa

In Burundi any time you leave the capital city Bujumbura we say that you are “going up country”. Bujumbura lies in the Great Rift Valley on the edge of Lake Tanganyika. It faces the Congo Mountains across the lake to the west, and is enclosed from behind by the Burundian hill country that fans out to the east. So if you are leaving Bujumbura, you are more than likely headed up into the hills, but even if you are going to follow the lakeshore south to Nyanza Lac and aren’t actually going to gain any elevation or head into the hills, we in Bujumbura still call this “going up country”. This past weekend I took my third trip “up country” to the central-most province and second largest town in Burundi, Gitega. There is much to be said about this area of Burundi, but a history lesson is boring so instead I will simply tell you what I saw from the top of Mt. Songa which is the highest point in Gitega province and about 5 km’s from town.

At the top of Mt. Songa I have a 360 view of the green and seemingly lush countryside. Banana Trees carpet the warmer more fertile valleys flanked by cultivated fields of maize and vegetables. Almost all the land is cultivated. There are no trees except for a few patches of Eucalyptus that have been planted for their ability to be harvested in a few years. The cultivated land creeps up the hills and halts only when the land is too rocky to support plant life. The crops planted on these slopes cling precariously to the thin topsoil, waiting for a rain that will either bring them life or wash them away into the valley.

I want to see beauty here, and in many ways I do. But I also see a land that is being stretched beyond its capacity. There is too little land for too many people. Erosion is eating away at the once rich soil, leaving behind only rocks and barren earth. I pray for hope to be restored in the lives of these people who toil the earth; I pray for the work of their hands. For as Christ transforms and restores their lives may they be reminded of their duty as stewards on this earth and engage it in a different light.

2 comments:

Jessamyn said...: isaac! it seems like you are doing so well in burundi! we miss you here :) i am a new blogger and i was glad to know you have a blog too! take care!; November 18, 2008 at 8:37 AM
Sera said...: check out http://www.burunditribune.com for daily news and info. Its a great website for those interested in Burundi issues or current events.; December 6, 2008 at 11:42 AM