During the past few months, Innocent, Memory Book Club Coordinator at Group Misa Congolese refugee camp in Tanzania, has alerted us to the influx of 70,000 Burundians fleeing their homeland due to turmoil surrounding impending elections of a new president. These refugees swell the ranks of Groups Misa by thousands, putting greater strain on limited food, shelter, schools, and jobs.
Burundian C. Bonne has operated a Memory Book Club in Bujumbura for the past two years. He, along with four facilitators and hundreds of Burundian children, have been invited to join the Memory Book Club at Group Misa that serves 1400. (You may recall reading a previous blog about the need for bathrooms for the growing number of children who come to this Memory Book Club.)
Innocent reports the children have been introduced to our 4th Year Lesson Planner that teaches children ‘Discovering Your Giftedness.’ Innocent says the lesson has received a good response and the children are appreciative. The boys and girls travel by foot from many parts of the camp early in the morning and stay late into the day.
It is a privilege to learn children have the opportunity to congregate in a safe and supportive environment such as our Memory Book Club. For the next year, children will learn the difference between talented and gifted, and be encouraged to set out to discover which gift(s) God has for each of them. Join me in praying for the Group Misa Memory Book Club, that children will continue to experience healing, grow emotionally, and discover their lives matter.
- Tamara Faris, Founder, Memory Books for Children International