Back to Burundi

  1. Posted on Friday 13 July 2007 - 17:15
    Sarah Harting
    Image of Sarah Harting
    4 July. Hello! I'm writing you from Africa again! I left Friday the 1st of June in the evening with Ethiopian Airways from Amsterdam heading first to Frankfurt then to Addis Abeba. I arrived there in the morning and had to wait for two and a half hours and took another plane to Bujumbura via Entebbe.

    I arrived in Bujumbura at 13h where two friens I had met last year, and another friend that I met on the net were waiting for me. We went to Face2Face to have some food, roasted fish and chips and a Fanta Citron, the food I had been dreaming about when in Europe! I changed some money and bought a new sim-card (my phonenumber is (+257) 79 464 476) and the brought me home. I stay at the same place as last year, with the parents of a friend. When I got home I took a rest because I was really tired and when I woke up a lot of family had come. It seemed an important meeting, but they were speaking in Kirundi so I'm not sure of course. My "burundese father" said they were speaking Kirundi for me, so that I could learn it which is indeed one of my plans. I did understand something though. There were also three children, watching me all the time. One of them was looking in a magasin and saw a picture of abazungu (white people) and asked his mum if I was one of them. Also when I asked for water instead of Fanta, they were wondering if everybody in Holland drinks water. Later another friend with whom I'll be sharing the room came home and she took me to the neighbours, I had met them last year as well. We also walked to a cybercafé nearby where friends of mine work and then headed back home.

    I will be writing further adventures on my website that I used last year in France as well; http://mzungukazi.whereareyou.net This website gives you the possibility to sign up and receive an e-mail everytime I update the site. I have no more information yet about my mission, that is writing about the famine in Burundi, but I hope to tell you more about it next time. My host said he had been thinking about what I can do as well, and I think he wants to help me with it, so things will work out.
    With love from a very hot Bujumbura!
    Sarah Harting\n\n

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  13. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  14. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
  15. Algerians vote in parliamentary election10/05Polls have opened in Algeria for parliamentary elections which the authorities have billed as more free and transparent than ever before.
News archive