Agros Blog

I recently had the opportunity to take Claude Nikondeha, founder of the Amahoro Network, to see our work in Nicaragua. Claude is from Burundi, and he is interested in contextualizing and implementing the Agros development model in East Africa. This is what Claude shared with his network after our trip:

Dear friends,
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Latin America for the first time. I arrived in Nicaragua to learn first-hand about the work of AGROS INTERNATIONAL. Upon my arrival, I immediately recognized that the people of Nicaragua are wonderful people with the most beautiful language, living a simple life of caring for each other and the land that God has given them. As I walked through their communities and witnessed the pride in their agricultural accomplishments, I was impressed with their eagerness to work hard to bring about lasting change in their villages. Their joy was contagious, and I found myself infused with deep delight with each encounter, with each story told and each meal shared together. Cultivating and owning your own land, is good news, indeed!

The vision of Agros is “to restore hope and opportunity to the world’s poor.” In other words they go after what Jesus called ‘the least of these’ and give them tangible hope in the form of farmland. For the last 25 years, Agros has been doing rural community development in Latin America with a simple but very transformative process — building self-sustaining and thriving communities.

While mistakes have been made, it is success that thrives as Agros creates communities with land, local leadership, homes, and a spirit of generous hospitality. Their work is a visible manifestation of God’s good news to the impoverished people of Latin America.

I went to Nicaragua hoping to be inspired for ‘the least of these’ in my own homeland of Burundi. Indeed, the rural farmers of Nicaragua inspired me beyond what any book or essay on rural development could have ever done! These are people who are getting their ‘first chance’, their first real opportunity to build a home, own land, run a business, lead in their village and experience the goodness of God’s provision. Their industrious and gracious spirit reminds me of my African kinsmen, and I feel like I have got a glimpse of hope for the countryside of Burundi.

For many years I have looked for a way to sustain healthy development in a rural setting and a communal culture. I believe this is it, this is what it can look like! Agros offers a paradigm that offers me hope; it is a model that can deliver real transformation on the ground. This model allows communities to grow, leadership to develop and opportunity to spring up like wild flowers. I have seen what is possible in Nicaragua, and I believe that it is possible in Burundi and across rural Africa. By partnering with the poor and making land, agricultural knowledge, community development and leadership training available to them, good things can grow. This can be good news for Africa! This summer while my family and I spend time in Burundi, one of the things we will be exploring will be a potential local NGO who can partner with Agros to bring this opportunity to the poor of Burundi.

Amahoro,
Claude Nikondeha