We had a very successful day today in Kibimba, after a safe trip�yesterday�with me driving for the first time in Burundi. It went well and is nice�to�be behind the wheel again. And we only had one military stop, though�there�were many soldiers on foot, especially the first third of the trip. We�ended�up renting a small Toyota from one of the local ministers who is glad to�make a few Fbu [Burundi francs] from it.

This morning we had a workshop with fifteen people present, including pastors�from the Kibimba Quarter and the acting legal representative, Solomon Bahinda, and some staff from the Kibimba Hospital,�all�male, ranging from perhaps 30-64. They were at first a quiet audience,�formal, as are Burundians in such situations. But we warmed them up with a�gathering exercise from AVP, a presentation about what the Burundi Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Center (BTHARC) is, its history,�objectives (now done in Kirundi), and who we, the team, are. We then�presented �What is trauma?� using many techniques to get them to share.�And wow! We had them with us all the way. We took a break for ten minutes�mid�way but they wanted to come back in after five. And later we offered to end�for lunch and finish the last section just after eating. They said they�are�used to waiting and to continue. Then as we finished, one asked if we�were�not going to continue in the afternoon. But we had the secondary�students�already scheduled.

They were especially interested in learning the symptoms of trauma as�they�realized that much of what they experienced personally and observed in�others was actually the result of trauma. They had never known or even�had�an idea. In another section I led them in sharing what they thought had�led�to their own personal survival in all that they have gone through. They�shared many experiences, from being in a refugee camp, asked by the chief�to�go to the building next door to bury the dead ones. There were five or�six�dead, whose bodies had been there awhile, while others had lived there�still. [The man who experienced this] expressed concern for those people and hoped we could find�them�now to offer our services to them as he was sure they must be really�carrying some terrible thoughts. He also shared about being taken by the�soldiers and kept for two weeks but being released alive, which was quite�unexpected and unusual in those times. Another told of being taken along�with his wife into custody by the soldiers who beat them for many hours.�Finally they told them and others with them to sing the songs the�soldiers�like to sing when going to battle, as they knew they were Christians and�liked�to sing. They refused saying they don�t sing that kind of song. They�continued to be beaten. Finally they were asked to sing their Christian�songs, which they did. One soldier was so touched by it he asked that�they�be untied and released and the superior agreed. They got away safely,�though they and their group were the only ones that had lived from that�place. All the others were killed. I helped them to see that yes, God�had�delivered them, but they all had done something also. I took these things�from their stories. One later asked how they could help others in their�healing. We discussed many things.

Charles led a discussion on how can BTHARC work together with them. They�verbalized all the things we had wanted to do with them, including having�us�see some individuals and groups that they know need the help, having us�come�to the smaller churches to share as we did with them (and including�others�in the communities, such as Catholics), coming to the hospital to help�with�understanding some of the patients who, now they know, are suffering from�trauma � crying out, �The soldiers are coming... They�re coming,� etc. They�offered that they could help find people who would like to be trained to�help in such work. We closed in the grassy yard in a circle and did the�word toss from AVP, of course in Kirundi. It made everyone feel happy as�we�walked down the road to another building.

We ended the session with a lovely lunch, prepared in one of the houses�on�the mission. The cooks were from the Peace Restaurant next to the�hospital,�which usually only serves tea and scones. We had rice and beans (it�wouldn�t be Burundian without that) with one piece of meat (goat) and a�nice�salad of shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and avocado slices with mayo on top.�A�very special luncheon, topped with Fanta (which is the generic name for�Coke�and other sodas, all in glass bottles). It was pleasurable with much�laughter. After the eating, several speeches were made giving�appreciation�for their participation and responding to our invitations, for the food,�for�the program and for our work, with promises for praying for us in the�work.

While we were waiting for the food to be finished (which is pretty�unpredictable in Africa, even when planned for a certain time), I was in�the�large yard with Adrien and all the participants chatting about the beauty�of�Burundi, and picked some wild flowers. That act, and being the only�muzungu�(white person) in some time, brought many children of all ages. Suddenly, I�was surrounded by some forty or so children, all on their way to afternoon�session of primary school. They gathered for photos and sang at Adrien�s�suggestion while smiling for the camera. What a delight! I took many�photos, some of several of the very poor children who live somewhere in�the�area, probably without family, maybe in the bush � like the many we see�throughout the country along the roadways, some of the 110,000�unaccompanied�children (UAC) identified by the UN and NGOs.

At the Peace Secondary School, also on the Kibimba former mission�station,�in the afternoon, we waited for a torrential downpour to end. We then had�a�two-hour workshop with thirty students of levels 3 and 4 of the Normal�grades�of school, probably the equivalent of 9th and 10th in the US. All but�about�seven were male. It was very quiet at first, as they sat on long benches, arranged�in�a kind of square/circle. They soon warmed up as we played �Jack in the�box�,�a name exercise from the HIPP [Help Increase the Peace Project] manual (it was copied for us at QPC). First�we had to tell them what a jack in the box is. Then we led them in a��Light�and Lively� called �The Big Wind Blows,� an adaptation from HIPP/AVP; and�then on to a brainstorming session, �Violence/Non-violence.� They were very�responsive and quick to identify both. We ended with small group�discussions, �Building a Better Community.� They were really interested�and�freely spoke about developing society with human rights, dignity,�equality,�freedom, etc. I�m convinced that if given a chance these youth would�build�a great system with rights for all, quite unlike their country at�present.�They are not yet corrupted by power, despair, anger or money. They left�the�group, interacting and laughing. These students who have been studying�together in this Friend�s boarding school are of both Hutu and Tutsi�backgrounds. Some have been together for the past three years when the�school�reopened after some horrible massacres had taken place in the area in�October, 1993. There are 275 students now. Thaddi, the headmaster, told�me�that they hope to have over 300 next year. They are slowly rebuilding�some�of the structures damaged in the �crises� and by the several thousand�refugees who lived there for six years.