Mission of the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH FINDINGS

Research description

The researcher interviewed different groups, which included 45 beneficiaries of church projects, 108 participants in focus groups and 9 Church leaders. Consequently, a semi-structured interview schedule was prepared, in which eight questions were reserved for the beneficiaries of church projects, ten questions for those in focus groups and seven questions for church leaders. All the questions were conceived in terms of the cycle of praxis, which is comprised of four moments, identification, context analysis, theological reflection and strategies for mission.
The process of choosing respondents was crucial, as the researcher needed enough people who could provide rich information about the topic under investigation. He therefore sought the help of the pastors who lead the Anglican churches in the Bujumbura municipality, where the respondents fellowship. The pastors were the first to share the subject under investigation, so that they could help the researcher identify relevant respondents because they know their congregants. Thus, he chose poor people, but mainly those from among the poor who would help in the research topic. The researcher needed enough time to develop good relationships with the pastors and, later, with the selected respondents. The total proposed number of respondents was met and men and women, young and adult were represented as follows:
The interview schedule was initially in English but was translated into Kirundi and Kiswahili. It was noted that the majority used Kirundi, while a few others used Kiswahili or a mixture of Kirundi and Kiswahili. When responding, the respondents could even mix Kirundi with French because of Burundi’s French background. Only a handful of respondents used English. These included two pastors, Israël NDIKUMANA and Théogène MITABARO respectively of Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Mutanga Nord parish.
Recording the information was a challenge, as the interviewees were free to use a language they felt comfortable with. Consequently, the researcher collected data in a mixture of languages and in a brief form. But he translated them into English when compiling the final document.
Apart from a few individuals among the beneficiaries of church projects who chose to be interviewed at their areas of work because they did not want to miss out on their earnings, (please see the following chart) nearly all the remaining interviewees were met at the different church venues on different dates for personal interviews or in the focus groups. Church venues were secured, cool and conducive environments which respondents enjoyed and where they felt free to express their ideas, especially in their focus groups.
The researcher had a laptop and a writing pad with which to collect information. He also had a radio recorder, which unfortunately failed him at an early stage, so he decided to abandon it. But he had a digital camera for taking photographs of the different focus groups and churches where the interviews were conducted.
The researcher spent a lot of time developing relationships with the interviewees and explaining his research topic. He spent even more time giving further explanations before starting the real interview and focus groups. This added up to more than expected. Moreover, questions of clarity from interviewees and probing questions made the interview long. In the end, the focus groups lasted longer than the hour that had initially been allotted. Personal interviews also took around 30 minutes and longer. But the interviews and focus groups looked lively and enjoyable, providing rich information for the researcher. The respondents all willingly signed the consent letter individually, although a few of them sought help from others, as they could not write or else their handwriting was illegible. They also accepted being referred to by name, except for one woman in the focus group at St Mark’s parish who, for personal reasons, refused.
Apart from the development of relationships with pastors and potential respondents that started as early as 14/01/2014 when the researcher got an official message that the proposed title had been approved for a DTh projected thesis, the real research began immediately after 29/01/2015, when UNISA informed him of the successful ethical clearance and wired into his bank account funds for research work in the field. It took six months and lasted until July 2015, when he started compiling the findings.

Identification of people’s needs

In his search for the urban residents’ needs, the researcher asked the respondents question 3 on the church projects, which is about the major needs in their daily lives (See appendix 2, page 252). This question was similar to the question 3 which was asked in the focus groups (See appendix 2, page 252). However, it differed a bit from question 2, which was addressed to the church leaders. This one asked church leaders what main issues urban residents brought to their attention (See appendix 2, page 252).
Their answers were almost similar to those given in the focus groups. Those needs were mainly in terms of food; good housing; money to pay for rent; clothing; medical treatment; and the word of God as summed up in the comments by Marie Goreth KWIZERA, (25 02 2015), who was in a focus group at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Jérôme NTAHOKAGIYE, (21 02 2015) from a focus group at Ruziba parish, and Vital NZAMBIMANA, (31 03 2015), a beneficiary of the church projects in St Mark’s parish.
Some respondents from all the parishes added a few particular needs that differed from the common needs mentioned above. Those who were married added school fees for their children; a transport fee; a communication fee; jobs; and the capital to start a business, all of which were summed up in the observations of Gennifer HAGABIMANA (19 02 2015), from a focus group at Kanyosha parish, Joyce UWINEZA (28 02 2015) from a focus group at Cibitoke parish, and Godefroid NTIRABAMPA, (03 06 2015), a beneficiary of the church projects at St Matthew’s parish. The following two exchanges sum up the answers to question 3:
When it came to Church leaders, they gave almost the same answers. The common issues were related to spiritual life (prayers for family breakups, children’s bad behavior, and prayers for sicknesses); food; money to sustain their families, pay for children’s school fees, rent and money to reimburse debts. Like the respondents in church projects and focus groups, church leaders had particular issues put to them. They included spiritual weakness; the need for money to reimburse debts; need for family prayers; demon possession; and personal weaknesses. The following chart sums up the answers to question 2

Personal involvement in urban life

Question 4 was directed only to the beneficiaries of the church projects and focus groups, but not the church leaders. The question asked what the respondents were doing about their main daily needs (See appendix 2, page 252 and 253).
The majority of the answers by the respondents showed that they did not have reliable jobs but rather were struggling to earn their living. These answers are summed up in the following words from Isidonie KEZAKIMANA, a beneficiary of the church projects at the Kanyosha parish and Isaac SINZOBAKWIRA, from a focus group at Ruziba parish: ‘I came to look for a job in the city but have not yet got it. I look for some casual work and struggle so much to earn my living’ (Isidonie 22 02 2015; Isaac 21 02 2015). Others are students who are not working, but depend on their families for survival. The students’ answers were the same and are summed up in the words from Clovis INGABIRE, from a focus group in the Nyakabiga parish and Pélagie NINDABIRE, a beneficiary of church projects at Mutanga Nord. Those students pointed out that they do not have jobs because they are still studying. They rely on their parents to get school fees, uniform and material. They explained that their parents find it difficult to get all the required money to cater for their education because they do not get jobs easily. Moreover, those students explained that they sometimes try to find some temporary work during holidays to substantiate (Clovis 17 02 2015, Pélagie 28 02 2015).
Apart from the students and those who came to look for jobs but who have not yet found them, there were some beneficiaries of the church projects and respondents in focus groups whose jobs were in different categories. These categories included farmers and small business dealers cultivation, selling items in kiosks commonly known as Boutiques (French), selling vegetables, oil, onions and the like; the second category is made of handicrafts like tailoring, sewing and building, to name but a few; the third category were government workers such as soldiers, bank accountants, teachers, medical workers and local administration officers; and the fourth category were church workers, such as accountants, cashiers, social workers, evangelists or Church cleaners. The following two charts reflect those who are working and the category under which they fall

Mission of the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura

The Anglican parishes of Bujumbura municipality fall under four archdeaconries³⁸who serve the 13 communes making up Bujumbura. Those parishes serve independently, although they adhere to the mission that the Anglican Communion³⁹ preaches and strives to practise.
The parishes’ respective pastors proved efficient in mastering the mission of their Churches, although their years of serving in the urban contexts differ greatly. However, they try to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors when it comes to the Church mission. One pastor, Jean Claude NDUWAYO, who had just been who was just promoted from serving as one of the pastors in Christ the King parish to being a main pastor in Cibitoke parish was the exception. He replaced the Rev. Moïse BIGIRIMANA, who had been promoted to the position of diocesan secretary in charge of pastoral ministries.⁴⁰ When the researcher was conducting the interview, Rev Jean Claude had just been appointed and could not as yet have known much about the practical life of the Cibitoke parish. He referred the researcher to Rev. Moïse BIGIRIMANA to answer for him. This helped the researcher complete the process he had started earlier with Rev. Moïse of guiding him to select potential respondents for both individual interviews and focus groups. The following chart shows the pastors’ years of experience in their parish work
The previous chart showing pastors’ years of experience in their respective parishes also responds to question number one in the interview schedule for Church leaders (See appendix 2, page 252). This question is about the time the pastors have been serving in their respective parishes. It shows that those pastors settled into those parishes and identified themselves with the people they were serving.
Referring to the same stage of residence, two similar questions were asked of the beneficiaries of church projects and focus groups. While the first question dealt with how respondents came to live in the municipality of Bujumbura, the second asked how they had come to fellowship in their respective parishes (Appendix 2, pages 252 and 253). For question number one, answers by both the beneficiaries of church projects and the focus groups were categorized into two groups: some had been born in Bujumbura whereas others joined the city when they arrived from upcountry. The two following charts reflect the answers by beneficiaries of church projects and focus groups in the nine Anglican parishes of Bujumbura

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background and motivation
1.2 Problem statement
1.3 Relevance of the study
1.4 Objectives of the study
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Limitations of the study
1.7 Literature review
1.8 Research framework
1.9 Research design
1.10 Research methodology
1.11 Research instrument
1.12 Data analysis
1.13 Ethical considerations
1.14 Organization of the study
Chapter 2: Analysis of urbanization in Burundi and the Church’s missionary calling to urban challenges
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Urbanization in Burundi: An overview
2.3 Urbanization in Bujumbura: Immediate focus
2.4 Urbanization as a challenge to city Churches
2.5 The Church’s missionary calling to urban challenges
2.6 Conclusion
Chapter 3: Research findings
3.1 Research description
3.2 Identification of people’s needs
3.3 Personal involvement in urban life
3.4 Mission of the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura
3.5 The spiritual aspect of mission in the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura
3.6 The physical aspect of mission in the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura
3.7 Theological aspect of mission in the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura
3. 8 The pastoral planning aspect of the Anglican parishes to the municipality of Bujumbura
3.9 Conclusion
Chapter 4: Data analysis
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Identification
4.3 Context analysis
4.4 Theological reflection
4.5 Strategies for mission
Chapter 5: Towards a proposed model of effective urban ministry in the context of urban poverty 
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Efficient use of the cycle of praxis
5.3 Initiating income generating activities (IGAs)
5.4 A holistic approach to urban mission: harmonizing the spiritual and physical needs
5.5 Triangle network between the Churches, the faith-based organizations and the government
5.6 General conclusion
5.7 Recommendations for further research
References 
Appendices
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The response of the Anglican Diocese of Bujumbura to the challenge of urbanization in Burundi