‘And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations’ - Revelation 22.2
The Bishop of Derby's Harvest Appeal 2023 will help the people in the Diocese of Bujumbra, Burundi, fight the catastrophic effects of seasonal rains that wash away their farms, homes, land and livelihoods.
Trees for Life Burundi will assist communities there plant thousands of saplings to help stabilise and strengthen the land, whilst at the same time helping wildlife and the environment in the area and beyond.
On launching the appeal, Bishop Libby said: "Burundi is ranked as the world's poorest nation and people there desperately need help to stop their crops, livestock and buildings disappearing down a hillside as the land gets eroded by the rains.
"It is a complex situation but, fortunately, the remedy is relatively straightforward, and I am delighted that this year's appeal will offer hope to those people and communities in danger of losing everything they have."
The Bishop of Repton has recently visited Bujumbura and seen for himself the need to help the people of the East African state.
Bishop Malcolm said: "On the edge of Bujumbura in the Commune de Kanyosha there are two ‘Collines’ greatly at risk, Colline Gisovu and Colline Nyamaboko. There is currently no agro-forestry there.
According to the administrator of this commune, Kanyosha, following torrential rain and strong winds, recently more than ten dwellings, a church and a school were destroyed, and many fields were damaged; domestic animals were swept away by lightning and others by landslides.
"These hills’ inhabitants have not yet been able to take action to secure resilience to the effects of climate change."
The Diocese of Bujumbura, based in and around Burundi’s largest city, is marked by rolling hills and valleys and in that respect alone, not unlike Derbyshire.
The impact of climate change is felt by those who try to make a living by cultivating the hillsides.
Recent years have seen particularly dry dry seasons and torrential rains in the wet season, often causing flooding and devastating mudslides.
Bujumbura is working in various areas to mitigate the effects of climate change by helping local residents plant trees.
Trees hold hillsides in place, prevent erosion, and protect lives and livelihoods.
They make all the difference locally, and contribute globally to carbon capture.
Saplings ready to be planted in Burundi to help stabilise the soil
Landslides can have a far-reaching impact on communities, not only through the loss of houses and fields, but also through the destruction of critical facilities.
The loss of a school means that opportunities for education and qualifications in that community can be lost. In turn that greatly reduces the chances of getting a job, and that reduces the chances of being able to support yourself and a family adequately.
And that can lead to a loss of hope.
But the people of Bujumbura have a lot of determination and know that by planting trees - thousands of trees - the roots will grow and help stabilise the land.
They turn out in numbers to dig trenches and get planting - but they can only do that when viable saplings are available.
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Locals dig trenches to start the tree-planting process
How will the Bishop of Derby's Harvest Appeal help?
The focus of the Diocese of Bujumbura’s work, with our support, will be:
- to reduce soil erosion by 20% on Gisovu and Nyamaboko hills by marking out the contours of the hillsides and planting trees strategically to offer the best protection to the land, and
- to initiate 20 climate resilience local economic groupings amongst women and young people, with a savings and credit approach to enable beneficiaries to set up a fund to help them purchase tree nursery equipment to sustain a tree planting project for the long term.
£5,000 will make possible all this possible.
If any more is raised, it will enable this immensely valuable work to be expanded to benefit residents of other collines in the neighbourhood.
Bishop Libbs said: "It is a privilege to work together with the Diocese of Bujumbura in this way. Climate change is, of course, a global phenomenon and trees planted in Bujumbura also address, to some degree, climate change in Derbyshire!
"We are one world, and one human family.
"The people of Bujumbura need our help, so let us gift them generous faith, corageous hope and life-giving love."
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Land is washed away by seasonal rains, leaving a large chasm where crops used to be
How to donate
Maybe you and your church or community could work together to organise an event for the appeal.
Or you can make a personal donation using your debit or credit card at our JustGiving page.
Thank you for your support!
