This past year’s Run For The Water 5K (R4TW) included a special addition that was a love letter to Burundi. Families from all over the United States who participate in the Burundi Adoption Network gathered under one tent to meet one another in-person.
Adopting internationally has many challenges, and those challenges are amplified even more so when adopting children from small African countries, like Burundi. Burundi Adoption Network families attend our annual race, so their children can connect with fellow Burundians and maintain roots to their culture.
Cultural & Philanthropic Connections for Burundi
Cultural resources for children with Burundian heritage are very limited in the United States, and R4TW is one of the few events focused solely on raising awareness and supporting Burundi.
Cultural and philanthropic connections are of high importance to adoptive parents who hope to raise their children with respect and understanding for Burundi, their country of origin.
Our race also has become an important place for parents to connect, so they can support each other through the various stages of adoption. Due to many circumstances, adopting from Burundi is notoriously difficult. The parents share tips on how to expedite the process, people who might be helpful to talk to, and emotionally support each other, even well after their children have been brought home and added to their family.
How These Cultural Connections Got Started
The Gazelle Foundation’s mission with Run For The Water (R4TW) has always been twofold: to be a premier running event and to bring awareness to the clean water crisis in Burundi.
Upon noticing the growing number of Burundian families in attendance, the Foundation reached out to see how and where we could offer support. However, none of this would like have happened without one special family, the Cox family.
One Family’s Love Letter to Burundi Inspires More Families to Connect
Jeff and Tricia Cox family have one biological daughter and have adopted two boys from Burundi. They are currently in the process of adopting again, this time a girl, also from Burundi. They chose to adopt from Burundi after learning about the tiny country from a speaker at their church.
“We had always wanted to adopt,” said Tricia Cox, “but when we decided on international adoption, Burundi was the place that kept coming back to us.” After adopting, they investigated ways they could support their children’s home country.
They learned about the Gazelle Foundation after someone shared Gilbert’s book, This Voice in My Heart, in their Burundi Adoption Network Facebook group. Jeff and Tricia Cox both read the book and then decided to attend the race for the first time in 2021.
They immediately fell in love with the race and mission to bring clean water and hope to Burundi. They and their sons met Gilbert and the Burundian dancers. The dancers attend the race each year to celebrate their drumming tradition and inspire runners at the finish line.
Run For The Water Connects More Families With Ties to Burundi
The Cox family began inviting everyone in their adoption circles to attend the race, and Tricia served as a race ambassador in 2023. Their kids even got involved by fundraising for the race with a “Cider and Donuts for Burundi” event. Tricia says, “The race is one of our family’s favorite weekends of the year. We can’t wait for R4TW 2024!”
“R4TW is one of our family’s favorite weekends of the year!”
The Number of Families with a Heart for Burundi Grows
The growth of this Burundi Adoption Network community at the Race For The Water held each November has been incredible to watch. It started with just a couple families and by 2023, there were 12 families in attendance. The Gazelle Foundation is continuously looking for new ways to support them. Because November is National Adoption Month, we hope to use the race’s visibility to support the current families and facilitate new connections with more families with family ties to Burundi.
Help us send more love letters to Burundi by supporting our mission to bring clean water to Burundi. Learn about more ways to get involved and consider joining our mailing list to learn more about our work to spread love, peace, and hope to Burundi, East Africa.