#GreeningBurundi. 1 Million trees by Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze. Example for the youth.
This is a story about believing, compassion, Life, creativity and embracing nature in Burundi.
We are one.
Deforestation is a major problem in Burundi, with trees being cut down for fuel or for agricultural clearing; as a result, there is very little natural forest vegetation remaining. Only 5.4 percent of Burundi’s land mass is officially protected.
Trees.
Thanks to them
we can breathe,
they feed us,
they heal us…
and they ask nothing from us in return.
Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze is 24 and lives in Bubanza, Burundi.
His goal is to plant 1.000.000 trees.
The trees are planted on his nursery next to the Kidahwe river.
We visited him, last week, on Wednesday 13 February, 2019.
The way he walks his path of Life…
He writes on Facebook, Twitter. Also in English.
Twitter: @EmmanaGang
When I ask him if there is somebody helping him on social media, he answers that, by his own initiative, he followed a course on social media and English.
This young man keeps on surprising me.
He takes initiative, he is creative and he has a vision’.
Many people are negative, blame everything on outside things such as history, the past, poverty…
So, while others wait for things to come to them, he walks his path. He even shows the path. Be sure, Life will bring everything to him.
He has an open mind and an open heart.
Not only, does he contribute to a better environment for everyone, even more important,
he is an example for the youth of Burundi.
He is not so much a talker but rather somebody who thinks… to ACT! To contribute to a better world.
This is what should be taught at schools and universities:
“Learn to learn by your self. Don’t wait till others tell you what to do. Find your passion and try. Your power and your strength are inside you.”
Emmanuel is not the first to think of planting trees against desertification and deforestation.
In Kenya, Nobel Peace Price Winner Wangari MAATHAI
(green belt movement), started with the idea of planting trees. She believed that the decline of Africa can be countered by the use of culture, nature and self-belief. Even Nelson Mandela is a fan of her.
This doesn’t mean we all have to start to plant trees ( at least a few 😉 but we all have to be conscious that we are all one humanity and one with nature.
To understand, hereby a poem of
my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh:
“Look at the tree.
[It] is a wonderful thing, a tree.
A tree is very beautiful.
A tree to me is as beautiful as a cathedral, even more beautiful.
I look[ed] into the tree and I saw the whole cosmos in it.
I saw the sunshine in the tree.
Can you see the sunshine in the tree?
Yes, because without the sunshine, no tree can grow.
I see a cloud in the tree. Can you see?
Without a cloud, there can be no rain, no tree.
I see the earth in the tree.
I see everything in the tree.
So the tree is where everything in the cosmos comes into,
and the cosmos reveals itself to me through a tree.
Therefore, a tree to me is a cathedral,
and I can take refuge in the tree and
I can get nourished by the tree…
I can get in touch with the tree
only if I go back to the present moment,
because the tree can only be found
in the present moment.”
Please feel free to contact us if you want to support Emmanuel and his #greeningburundi project.
burundigo.wordpress.com 
Green job… You have the green light to move forward, your greenprint is there it is the best sample for youth world wide