The Batwa are Burundi’s indigenous population.  Formerly called pygmies, a term they now reject, the Batwa live subsistence lifestyles, growing meager crops and making traditional pots on government land.  Today the Batwa live on the outermost fringes of Burundian society, facing extreme discrimination, dislocation by the government and limited, if any, opportunities in most areas of life.  From education to health care to politics, the Batwa are demeaned, refused access, and pushed aside.
 
With a committee consisting of both American and Batwa leaders, Communityfor has begun to restore hope and opportunity to the Batwa.  They have restored hope in the form of new farmland in Matara and in the secondary education of 40 of their students in Bujumbura.  Most importantly, however, they have restored hope in the form of friendship, empowerment, and equal dignity.
 
This is the story of that friendship.

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