Author Archive
Friday, April 24th, 2009
Steps Toward Democracy
Now that I’ve been here a while, perhaps some readers are beginning to wonder what I have to show for my time here. Well, for starters, I wrote a successful proposal for $9,000 to do a goat sharing project to encourage cross-ethnic reconciliation (based on our previous work with such projects, such as I described [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Tujijuke
There are words that qualify as interesting because, to translate them, it requires a phrase rather than just the equivalent word in the destination-language. Then there are words, such as the Kirundi word “kujijuka”, which is, in the first-person plural of the verb — “tujijuka,” the name chosen by a group of women living with [...]
No Comments » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Odette Nahayo
This week we have been morning the death of my dear friend Odette, who passed away last week following complications from a pregnancy. A memorial service was held for her on Friday attended by hundreds of people, an outpouring of support that showed the depth of her connection to those around her.
Odette was highly engaged in [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Harvest
Tune by body and my brain
to the music from the land.
- Dave Mallett
It was back in November that our gardening youth group began clearing an overgrown plot of unused land, strewn with popsicle sticks and fading wrappers.
At the time, some were cynical, thinking that we should just plant ilengalenga, a quick growing leafy green that [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Trauma Healing as Community Building
Today I’m writing from Kigali, Rwanda, where for the past 9 days I have been at a training for Burundians, Rwandans, and Congolese to become facilitators of Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) workshops.
At the same time, I’ve been reading Rethinking the Trauma of War, a book critical of programs that intervene in post-conflict situations [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Development as Investment
One idea in vogue in some development circles is the idea that development projects should be run like financial investments. After all, if the invisible hand keeps factories producing things that people actually want to consume, couldn’t a similar model also keep development funds going to projects that actually produce benefits? For example, if a [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Sunday, December 14th, 2008
Trauma Healing in Rurengera
This week I was upcountry in Rurengera for an advanced HROC workshop. The three day advanced workshop is for those who have already attended the basic workshop, and goes into greater depth on the topics of trauma healing and reconciliation.
The workshop was somewhat dark – taking place in the crumbling remains of an old Friends [...]
No Comments » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Thanksgiving in Burundi
Like a number of people from the US, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holidy, since it is focused around being together with family and giving thanks, with little material focus, except for on food of course.
And at least according to the mythology of Thanksgiving, it was from the start a multicultural event, so while [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Friday, November 21st, 2008
Planting Seeds of Solidarity
Some of my passions that tend to fall by the wayside in my work are for environmentmental stewardship, addressing global warming, and organic food. But over the past few months Adrien, Désiré and I have been putting together a program to incorporate these along with our peace work all in one project.
The idea is rooted [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in All Quiet on the Quaker Front by andrewdasein
Friday, November 7th, 2008
For John McKendy
John McKendy, a regular reader of this blog and friend of mine, was killed on October 31, allegedly by his daughter’s estranged ex-husband. John had come to Burundi the last two summers as a workcamper with the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI), and in particular helped to build the clinic for the Friends Women’s Association. [...]
