Little Explorers

As an extension of a history lesson rooted in The Age of Exploration, the Kindergarten through second grade class at Kibuye Hope Academy (KHA), our MK school, was recently asked to pretend that they were explorers to Burundi who needed to report their discoveries. Their goal was to help people like you, our faithful readers, who may never visit Burundi get to know this country they call home and their neighbors.

Ben, 2nd Grade

Burundi looks like it’s carved out of Emerald it’s so green. It’s in the heart of Africa under Rwanda. Burundi has hot springs, forests, water falls, and bumpy roads. 

Burundi has lots of cool animals like monkeys, chameleons, and snakes. Something cool about chameleons is, they can look two different ways at once! And, chameleons have long sticky tongues that help them catch flies and grasshoppers. 

People who live in Burundi eat beans and rice, goat, and chicken. The food is not the best, but at least it’s food! Also, they eat cow!

The people in Burundi have brown skin. Also they have short brown (or black) hair. Many Burundians (that’s the people who live in Burundi) live in mud houses.

Alma, 2nd Grade

Burundi is a poor country. It’s actually the poorest country in the world. Most of the houses in Burundi are made of mud. I live in Kibuye, a small village outside of Gitega. Our houses are made of brick and concrete. 

Our team has a hospital. We have many doctors to take care of everything. So many people get so hurt that they die. Some people get bit by things like a snake or a dog, but most of the time we can fix them up, and they can be sent home. Their family will be very happy. 

Zeke, 2nd Grade

Burundi is small and very poor. The houses are made of mud, sticks, leaves, and tin roofs. People grow crops to survive. Growing crops is hard because the country is tiny. Burundi is so small that a couple Burundis can even fit in Missouri. 

The most popular food in Burundi is beans and rice. Eating meat is a treat. The most common meat is goat meat. People sometimes make goat brochettes.

The flag of Burundi is a one of a kind. There is no other flag like it. There are three stars that are in a circle. There are four lines coming into the center, forming an X. The top and bottom of the X are red, and the sides of the X are green.

Sam, 1st Grade

Burundi has a lot of trees. Burundi has a lot of animals. Burundi is a poor country.

Seija, 1st Grade

Burundi is very green and brown. There are spiders and grasshoppers, beetles, wild dogs, bunnies, and people. Burundi has lots of cool bugs. I love dogs. I cannot see them because they are always hidden in the forest. But we do see the blue heron. The blue heron is blue and beautiful.

Burundi is a nice place. Come here anytime. This is a fun place. People told me, “Don’t go there.” But we did. Now we live here with my friends, and it is fun to do this.