In July 2013, Burundian women in coffee received a donation composed of 60 goats from an American organization called “Burundi Friends International”. Goats may seem like a strange gift, but for these Burundian women they were not just “goats”: they were a means to fertilize their coffee trees, have healthier coffee cherries and get more involved in their plantations.
As Burundi has its traditional culture to help and love each other; even Burundian women grew up with that culture. When those Burundian women in coffee from Busiga (Ngozi province) and Mparamirundi (Kayanza province) received those goats, they made an agreement in front of all the other women in coffee that didn’t get a goat.
The promise was that when it was time for those goats to give birth, they would give the kids from those goats to those women in coffee who initially didn’t get one. These Burundian women in coffee shared their donation so that other women in coffee had the chance to have the same benefits for their coffee plantations.
In September 2014, I went back to those regions with the delegation from Burundi Friends International and the President of IWCA Burundi chapter (Mme Isabelle Sinamenye) to see with my own eyes how those women in the coffee industry did indeed accomplish this promise. These Burundian women in coffee are generous and have the spirit of sharing with others. It is their real generosity toward the future that lies in giving all to the present.
As Burundi has its traditional culture to help and love each other; even Burundian women grew up with that culture. When those Burundian women in coffee from Busiga (Ngozi province) and Mparamirundi (Kayanza province) received those goats, they made an agreement in front of all the other women in coffee that didn’t get a goat.
The promise was that when it was time for those goats to give birth, they would give the kids from those goats to those women in coffee who initially didn’t get one. These Burundian women in coffee shared their donation so that other women in coffee had the chance to have the same benefits for their coffee plantations.
In September 2014, I went back to those regions with the delegation from Burundi Friends International and the President of IWCA Burundi chapter (Mme Isabelle Sinamenye) to see with my own eyes how those women in the coffee industry did indeed accomplish this promise. These Burundian women in coffee are generous and have the spirit of sharing with others. It is their real generosity toward the future that lies in giving all to the present.