Changing the world: a few people at a time
The Twa (or pygmies) are a tribe that lives in Central Africa, in the Great Lakes region. They are a nomadic people who lived as hunters in the forests. They did not farm, but exchanged meat they hunted for any food they needed. In the fight between the Hutu and Tutsis in the last years, (think Rwanda genocide), they were the third tribe, disliked by both of the others. Recently the governments of the nations through which they roamed, declared the forests to be national parks or game parks and made them leave. Deeply poor, not educated in farming methods, and always the last to be helped, they live in great need. Churches in Rwanda and Congo have been helping them.
In another project in DR Congo, some have sent money for the first gardens in some villages. Vegetables are usually not grown and there is a high rate of diabetes, as the main diet consists of starches. A group of Christian women are also buying soap wholesale and re-selling it to fund schooling for orphans in their village.
A small church in Carlisle is having a major impact on saving lives and preserving the health of people in countries most of us couldn’t even locate on a map!