Moringa Field Well

Ubuzima Moringa is a business that Debby Thomas started as a way to minister life and show God’s love to Rwandans. The business will enable them to buy moringa at a cheap price which will help them very much nutritionally. The business also has a vision to be Christ’s light in the communities in which it works , through relationships with farmers, workers, salespeople etc!

Ubuzima Moringa is growing its moringa trees right outside the city of Kigali in a low-lying swampy area. Moringa leaves need to be washed with water once they’re harvested but dirty, slimy, swamp water would have had to do the job since wells are very expensive to dig, about $15,000 at the least. Debby inquired into having a well dug on their property, but the business did not have the necessary funds.

One organization that Debby had contacted had problems with some equipment and had to have a foreign team come to repair it. Once it was repaired, they needed a place to test the equipment, but it couldn’t be on one of their contracted sites. Out of all the possible places, they thought of Ubuzima Moringa and of the well that they wanted at their field! Having a well dug to test the equipment would cost exactly nothing.

As I was finishing my lunch with the school kids the other day at the Thomas house, Debby announced that the well-diggers were at the moringa field about to start digging…and would we like to go watch? This invitation included all the students as well, once the parents were asked, and since the digging would start any minute, we had to hurry and get everyone packed into the vehicles and onto the road.

We had barely started our twenty-minute drive, however, when the timing belt broke on the Thomas’s land cruiser and Dave had to pull over. Our car went back to get another car so we could still all go see the digging, but then realized we were almost out of gas so stopped on the way. We finally all got to the field, having found enough vehicles and drivers, and got to see the magical well-drilling machine and workmen.

There is no way I could explain the mechanics of it all, I just knew that when we got there, a hole was already in the ground and a few people from the community were watching the whole process. We gladly joined them. When we reluctantly turned around to leave, the workers started digging again! This was the exciting part, the loud noise, the spinning drill, the dirt flying up out of the hole (and the poor operator getting covered with it). I saw a child holding two jerry-cans (water containers) and thought of the blessings that this water would bring - not only to help provide moringa, but also as a water source for the whole community around the field.

Initial Language study

I have been studying Kinyarwanda for about six weeks now. The woman who is helping me is Joyce, a woman from the Friends church who speaks great English and has great language abilities in general. I meet with her on my own every now and then, but meet in a group with other learners most of the time. The people in the group are Molly (who is also with EFM, teaching missionary children) and a couple from our neighborhood, Krystan and Ruth, who are with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
We use various methods for learning, like comprehension projects that involve drawing sketches and doing actions, labeling items around the room, practicing conversation, paper lessons that involve reading and writing, and projects to help us memorize monologues or dialogues. Our brains hurt and are tired sometimes, but we have fun as well. Krystan always manages to make Joyce laugh with his silly drawings. We also like to play Phase 10 (a card game) to practice our colors and numbers.

Though I can’t say very much yet, I feel like I am learning a lot and can comprehend more each day. The other day, in the church service, I realized I understood more than I ever have! So, my message to you from a limited vocabulary is jya kwisoko (go to the market), kata ibitunguru (chop up the onions), and umunsi mwiza (have a good day)!