Esther’s Story Esther is one of thousands of children in the Great Lakes Region of Africa who have been affected by decades of ethnic and political conflict. Her story is the same story of countless children who have lost the chance at the kind of life we in North America take for granted. I met Esther in 2006 while teaching in Burundi, a small and relatively unknown nation that has been dwarfed by the media attention given to Rwanda, Burundi’s neighbour to the north. The truth is that under Belgian mandate Burundi and Rwanda were once a single nation of Bahutu, Batutsi and Batwa people groups and therefore the ethnic conflict we associate with the Rwandan genocide has been as much present in Burundi. In 1993 the Tutsi led military in Burundi stormed the president’s residence and executed Melchior Ndadaye, Burundi’s first Hutu head of state. The ensuing civil war pitted Hutu against Tutsi and it was at that time
that babies like Esther were abandoned by fleeing and dying parents. Regional violence came to a head a year later when the Rwandan president’s plane was shot out of the sky and both Rwandan and Burundian presidents were consequently killed. In Rwanda civil war and genocide resulted in 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu deaths in a mere 3 months until the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front forced the Hutu extremist government to flee into the Congo. In Burundi civil war continued until a ceasefire was declared in 2004. Esther was born during the early stages of the civil war in Burundi. Her parents are unknown. All that is known is that at some point she was taken to the CRIB orphanage in Bujumbura where she came under the care of British missionary aid workers. Without this chance she probably would not have survived the war. CRIB is funded by private donors in Canada, the USA and the UK.
Esther was in grade 3 at the time that I was teaching secondary level World History courses at the same school. She is a beautiful girl with an absolutely intimidating sharp wit hidden slightly beneath her shy exterior Fortunately she is one of the lucky ones. She has the chance at graduating from high school, which is remarkable considering that only 12% of girls in Burundi reach grade 10. Esther has her basic needs met, a community that cares for her, and her nation is moving towards political security. Her story is a success story.
poverty and human rights violations are an ongoing reality for hundreds of thousands of kids in the region. To help meet these needs, Kap Photography currently supports Maison Immaculee, an orphanage in Goma, DRC. Goma sits at the centre of ethnic violence between Hutu extremists, Tutsi rebels and Congolese government forces. When you purchase Esther’s card you are contributing towards improving the well being of 21 Congolese orphans who lack access to basic education and a reasonable standard of living. For more information on Maison Immaculee e.Mail me at kylefeenstra@kapphotography.com or visit www.kivukidstour.com ________________________ Please Read: Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide. Rene Lemarchand. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Dynamics of Ethnic Violence in Central Africa. Rene Lemarchand. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. King Leopold’s Ghost: A story of Greed Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Adam Hoschild. Mariner Books, 2006. Race Against Time. Stephen Lewis. Anasi Press, 2006. Three Cups of Tea. Greg Mortensen. Penguin Paperbacks, 2007.
While both Rwanda and Burundi have made massive strides toward peace the violence in the Great Lakes Region of Africa has become concentrated in Eastern Congo and North-Western Uganda. Major atrocities, crushing
28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. Stephanie Nolen. Vintage Canada, 2008. Unicef: Burundi. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/burundi_31108.html Unicef: Congo. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ drcongo.html