2015 Micro Joint Ventures Report
What follows is a report covering activity from 2014 and some of
2015 as well. Important background
to this report is the civil strife that engulfed Burundi over
this period. The President stood for a third
term, despite the constitution only allowing for two terms. This
led to great instability and deaths,
including an attempted coup, and many fleeing for their lives.
Needless to say, such conditions make
business a secondary consideration at best. Nevertheless, our
manager Aime Joseph has bravely
toured the country and filed the report below.
I have to confess that my original hopes for the success of
these businesses have not been borne out.
We started our first business in April 2010, with high hopes.
However, I no longer believe that it is
reasonable for contributors to expect an economic return from
their contributions. I have not updated
the calculation of ownership levels of the various contributors
partly because it is a lot of work, and
partly because in the midst of the death and destruction I find
it hard to contemplate pulling money
out of these churches. Contributors might like to contact me
about their feelings in this. Contributors
should be aware that I have not been paid in any way for my work
overseeing these projects, so that
all contributions have gone either to our manager (Aime Joseph,
who lives in Burundi, and who tours
the different projects at personal risk), to Western Union (the
costs of money transfer) or (the vast
majority) to the projects themselves.
One noteworthy aspect of the current situation is that Aime
Joseph has had more success overseeing
Anglican projects than those from other denominations, owing to
his being Anglican. As much as I
wanted to be broad in the kinds of churches we supported,
practicalities are pushing in the opposite
direction, towards choosing (Anglican) churches that Aime Joseph
can more easily visit and oversee.
Aime Josephs financial commentary below is best understood as
stating first the current capital, then
subtracting capital as it stood at the prior reporting period,
with the result being the profit for the
period.
Do be in prayer for the different churches and projects, for
their growth in Christ in these tough
conditions, as well as their safety and their love for one
another. Please ask God for Aime Joseph to
do well looking after not only his own children but the orphaned
children of his uncle.
Give thanks that we were also able to make a contribution during
the period to free an individual from
hospital. In Burundi, individuals who cannot pay their hospital
bills are not permitted to leave the
hospital until they have paid, even if that means months or
years in a kind of hospital detention. We
have been asked if we can free three more individuals from
hospital, with the price upwards of A$750
for each person. Please ask God for help for those imprisoned in
such circumstances.
Mike Russell, November 2015
The managers report (From Aime Joseph Kimararungu)
Greetings in the name of the Lord, Hope this finds you well. I
am writing to report on the venture although I delayed due to
security which is still an issue in Burundi even today. May I let
you know as an introduction that things changed after my visits due
to security as a number of parishioners fled to Rwanda and to
Tanzania including pastors in some areas. 1. Bugendana
parish(cabbage and fresh food business) By the time I visited,
there was no business as it was in a dry season, But, after the
heavy rainfalls of last year which took a part of their business
they had remained with a capital of 745,890.00 BIF Balance sheet
this year: 1,115,780BIF- 745,890.00= 369,890.00BIF However, later
in July, the treasurer, his family and some of the church members
fled to Rwanda for their safety. He went with all the funds. He
might be in a refuge camp in Rwanda. 2.Munyinya parish( coffee
business) After the project was expanded the Capital became:
542,415.00+1,430,038=1.972.453 BIF Balance sheet:
2,365,420-1972.453= 392967 BIF 3.Kigarama parish (cassava flour
business) Balance sheet: 1,786,270.00-1,500,000.00=286,270.00 BIF
To mention that this project started just recently but the profit
so far gives hope for a better result after the year. 4.Mushasha
Parish This parish received 1.500.000BIF as the capital in April
last year. Today they presented their balance sheets as follows:
Total amount on 23,August,2015: 1,844.635BIF Profit:
1,844,635-1,500,000=344,635BIF 5.Kigarama Parish(cassava flour
business) Kigarama parish received 1,400,000 BIF in February this
year and they declared a profit of 197850 Balace sheet:
1,597850-1400,000= 197850BIF(Profit) 6.Nyamutetema parish.(Honey
business) This parish has been performing better since the
beginning. However it borders Tanzania and has become insecure
since the protestations started in Bujumbura the capital city a
number of people fled to Tanzania via Nyamutetema and I could not
manage to visit the place. I tried to get into contact with the
Project representative Mrs Sylvestre Ndayiragije in vain. Now the
region remains insecure and rebels may be operating from that area
as everyday we are getting news of kidnapping and assassination in
the region. Conclusion: I have no news regarding the project
progress at Nyamutetema. I suspect many people might have fled to
Tanzania.
