When Gilbert talks about his home country of Burundi, his face lights up and his eyes shine. First he will tell you how beautiful it is, followed by fond memories of his childhood. If you read his memoir, The Voice In My Heart, he makes his childhood sound idyllic at times, although it was a tough way of life. His adult history with Burundi has been much more complicated.
Gilbert left Burundi in 1996 after surviving a genocide massacre. He has returned to Burundi only a few times since then due to the volatile political environment. With 13 years between visits, Gilbert finally traveled back to Burundi in January 2023. He describes this trip home as a “full-circle” moment.
The United States has states, cities, and counties. Burundi is subdivided into provinces, communes and collines. There are 18 provinces, 117 communes, and 2,638 collines.
Burundi is one of the smallest African nations in the middle of the continent, sometimes referred to as “the heart of Africa,” as its geographical shape actually resembles the shape of a human heart. Its landscape is rolling plateaus, hills and mountains. Its economy is mostly fueled by agriculture; its main exports are coffee and tea. Unfortunately, after decades of general instability and corrupt governance, Burundi remains one of the poorest nations in the world and still lacks some modern infrastructure—like clean, accessible water for most of its citizens.
Gilbert’s love for Burundi led to co-founding the Gazelle Foundation in 2006. Since then, the Gazelle Foundation has supported the construction of over 65 water systems, all in the Burundian province of Bururi where Gilbert was born and raised.
Find out how we helped this community with a new water system.
Learn more about the impact of the Bitoke-Kiriza water system.
Explore Burundi is our series featuring cultural information and insights into the place where we work, and where you help us bring hope to so many.
A Better Burundi
After years of monitoring the political climate, Gilbert learned the new and current President of Burundi was welcoming to Burundians giving back to the country from abroad. He felt safe enough to travel there again, and having an aging parent (his mother is now 80 years old), he booked a plane ticket and started making the arrangements. On this trip, he was joined by Foundation supporter, Ashish Patel, Gazelle Foundation Board member Michael Madison, Tessa Madison, who is a Gazelle Foundation employee and is married to Michael, plus their six-year-old daughter, Finley. To be a host to friends in his home country, Gilbert felt he could finally show his gratitude and appreciation to those who have worked so hard to make clean water accessible in Burundi.
As anyone traveling home after a significant time has passed, Gilbert craved the basic comforts of home—food, special places, family and friends. He wanted to impress his Texas “team” of friends with the fresh Burundian fare, and show them where he grew up. Since Michael and Ashish are avid runners like Gilbert, one of the first things they did after landing was run an old familiar route of Gilbert’s to the mountains.
Gilbert grew up in the rural hills, but this trip home, the group stayed in a rented home in the country’s largest city, Bujumbura. It is customary for most large city households to have a cook, so the group enjoyed home-cooked local foods each day such as fish, potatoes, beans and salad, and of course, local favorites, ugali, bananas, and sorghum beer.
While in the city, Gilbert felt something he hadn’t felt for a long time.
“There was something about stepping outside this house—taking in a deep breath of air without worrying. When I left Burundi you’d see guns everywhere and hear shooting, it was nerve-racking. This time brought such a sense of relief, and it brings hope for the future. If you have a good leader that has a vision for the country and for peace, people can come and enjoy Burundi. This means I can bring more people here to see how I grew up and to see what the Foundation is doing. Because it’s safe again.”
Watch Gilbert, Ashish Patel and Board Member Danielle Sweeney share their firsthand about of visiting Burundi.
Access to clean water is especially important for kids and education, learn more.
A Joyful Reunion
As soon as he landed in Burundi, Gilbert called his mother, Martha, and let her know he had arrived safely. She requested he give her three days before coming to her house so she could properly prepare his favorite fermented drink, sorghum beer. After the beer had brewed, Gilbert drove the team into the mountains where he was reunited with his mother, sisters and other family members for a small celebration. His sister was the most outwardly emotional upon his homecoming, displaying tears and dancing, telling him, “we wondered if we would ever see you again!” His mother on the other hand was more stoic, like Gilbert. “Mama is strong and calm,” explains Gilbert, “she didn’t cry.” But as she began telling stories to the group with a smile on her face, he could tell how happy she was to have him home.
“Better communication has helped us stay closer over the last 13 years,” explains Gilbert. He calls home regularly to check on her, and on this trip he brought her a better iPhone so they can FaceTime and see each other even more.
Gilbert was not only happy to see his mother healthy and full of life, but he enjoyed watching her get a little bit of praise for the Gazelle Foundation’s work. “People tell her she has raised her children well,” says Gilbert. They tell her they are thankful for the clean water in their villages.
“I’m so proud of you. You have friends all over the world,” Martha, Gilbert’s mom tells her son.
“The Austin community has embraced our cause and supported us to push forward. Without their help, we would not be where we are today.”
Gratitude for the Water
As the group traveled to Gilbert’s childhood home in the hills, they were able to see several Foundation water systems along the way. The systems are spread out and sometimes hidden by vegetation, but tap stands can be seen about every mile. At some taps, there were kids and moms waiting to fetch water, and Gilbert and the group would stop to talk.
“That is what hit me hard,” Gilbert described. “They tell you how their life has changed. Their stories are similar and consistent, ‘I don’t have to waste time going to fetch water far away from home,’ or ‘I don’t have to share water with the animals.’” There were emotional stories told before the water systems were built, about losing children to cholera, a disease caused by contaminated water. Their message was powerful: “Thank you for saving me.”
While visiting one of the taps, Gilbert met a man who now had access to clean water for the first time in 60 years. He told Gilbert, “It’s been life-changing and makes me appreciate life more.”
When asked how it makes him feel to hear people say he changed their lives, Gilbert is always humble and gracious.
“I don’t see myself as the one changing the water situation in Burundi. I go back to the day we conceived of the idea for the Gazelle Foundation, and we had no idea if it was going to work. Now, people are thanking me for what I’ve done. But it’s not one person. It’s each village and it’s the neighbors.”
Gilbert also passes the praise on to Foundation supporters and the Austin community. “The Austin community has embraced our cause and supported us to push forward. Without their help, we would not be where we are today.”
A big change Gilbert noticed in his home commune of Songa was the number of modern homes being built. “There are more beautiful homes going up. It used to be huts everywhere, now you don’t see them.” There are a few reasons that could explain this shift, but an important one is that the water taps allow brick-making to happen practically on site, rather than requiring miles of moving water as it did before.
Waterborne diseases are the leading cause of death in Burundi. Communities with Gazelle Foundation water systems have drastically reduced waterborne illnesses.
Once systems are completed, they are handed over to the community to maintain and care for.
Connecting Past to Present
After Gilbert escaped from the massacre at his school in 1993, he made it to a hospital where he would be treated for multiple injuries, including third degree burns to his body and legs. The hospital had never treated fire burns before, so medicine was shipped in from France. As he recuperated, Gilbert knew he need to work on his legs and his mobility, so he asked a stranger if he could borrow his bike to stretch his legs. “I didn’t want to be crippled. My leg was bent and I just wanted it to be straight.”
On this trip, Gilbert had been invited by a childhood friend to come to her bar so she could treat her old friend. On his way to the bar, he heard a man in the street say he recognized Gilbert. Intrigued, Gilbert stopped to find out who this man was. “I am the one who gave you the bicycle,” the man told him. Gilbert hugged him and told him, “You saved my life.”
Once Gilbert and his friends were eating at the bar with their host, a man walked up to them. “You don’t remember me, but I know who you are very well. I was the doctor who treated you.” Gilbert was overtaken with excitement and jumped up to hug him. The doctor told him things he didn’t know about his time in the hospital—like how determined they knew he was to get better, and that they did what they could at the time to heal him and get him back on his feet. This doctor was one of the few people Gilbert trusted, and finally seeing him 30 years later was something Gilbert had long hoped for.
Gilbert’s friends took a moment to thank the doctor as well. They explained that because of him and many others, Gilbert’s life has not been one of tragedy, it has been one of forgiveness and joy.
“People that have seen you suffer, and now they see you strong—it’s a celebration and a connection. It’s like bringing life full circle.”
While Gilbert’s story includes great tragedy, it is also one of hope and resilience. Photograph by Holly Reed.
“Over my visits back to Burundi, I have visited the place I escaped, and I met the first woman that took care of me, met a soldier that fought to rescue students, and I even confronted one of my attackers,” he says. “To finally be able to see the doctor that took care of me, and able to communicate my gratitude—it’s hard to explain the feeling. People that have seen you suffer, and now they see you strong—it’s a celebration and a connection. It’s like bringing life full circle.”
After a peaceful and rewarding trip home, Gilbert plans to return to Burundi more often. His daughters are curious about their heritage and want to spend time with their cousins. He wants his girls to see the beautiful places he grew up, and he hopes travelers will start considering it as a destination. With the positive leadership changes, he feels tourism could become a bigger part of the Burundian economy.
Burundi has made great progress, however, day-to-day life for most Burundians remains difficult. Clean, accessible water is still not available to most people in the country and waterborne illness is still the leading cause of death. The trip was a powerful reminder to all of the importance of the Foundation’s mission.
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