Burundi President, Pierre Nkurunziza, will wash the feet of his fellow Burundi citizens and place a new pair of shoes on the feet of thousands of children. Nkurunziza has teamed with Samaritan’s Feet (www.samaritansfeet.org) to impact 10,000 of his residents in Burundi.

 

“I am excited to be a part of this incredible journey,” said President Nkurunziza, who went many years without shoes himself. “To be able to wash the feet of the poorest of the poor in my country is an honor and a blessing that God is allowing me to do. My goal is to work with Samaritan’s Feet to put shoes on the feet of a million children in Burundi. We are striving for reconciliation and peace through this act of servant hood. We want to empower Burundians to give back.”

 

Every Saturday, marks the “Burundi National Day of Service” where Nkurunziza encourages Burundians to give back. Saturday, Nkurunziza will join his fellow countrymen to give back by placing shoes on the feet of impoverished children throughout Burundi. Nkurunziza understands what it means to be poor. He was an orphan at the age of five and spent many years in the jungle fighting for his life.

 

The distribution will take place at the Community Center in Bujumbura from 8:00am-1:00pm. The event is a culmination of a week -long “Festival of Hope”. He will be joined by members of Parliament, who will also wash the feet of the poor and distribute shoes to them. 

 

Joining Nkurunziza is Samaritan’s Feet President and Founder, Emmanuel (Manny) Ohonme, who didn’t have shoes until the age of 9 years old, and members of the Samaritan’s Feet team. 

 

Six years ago, Ohonme left a lucrative marketing and supply chain job to start Samaritan’s Feet (www.samaritansfeet.org), a 501c3 organization whose goal is to put 10 million pairs of shoes on children’s feet in 10 years around the world. 

Manny is originally from Nigeria and grew up very poor. He received his first pair of shoes at the age of 9 from a missionary, who also taught him how to play basketball. These shoes allowed him to run and play without getting hurt and helped him get better at sports, specifically basketball.

 

“I am so excited about delivering these shoes with President Nkurunziza and members of his Parliament,” said Ohonme. “He is committed to helping his country and Samaritan’s Feet is committed to help bridge the gap of peace and reconciliation. Washing the feet of the poor is an act of servant hood that President Nkurunziza embraced because he cares for his fellow Burundians” 

 

Manny started playing travel basketball during his childhood and eventually played high school basketball in Nigeria. Manny was blessed with the ability to play basketball at a high level and eventually earned a scholarship to play at the University of North Dakota - Lake Region. 

 

While in school, Manny earned his bachelors and masters degrees. He had a chance to play basketball overseas, but he turned it down to concentrate on his education.   After graduation, he spent ten years in the logistics business prior to starting Samaritan’s Feet.

 

Nkurunziza will be washing the feet of Burundian children receiving the shoes, placing brand new tennis shoes on each child’s feet and displaying love and compassion.

 

There are 300 million children who don’t have shoes. They suffer from diseases, infection and many other ailments because they don’t have shoes to wear. 

 

To reach Manny while he’s in Burundi, you can call him at 011-257-78-23-2746 or email him at manny@samaritansfeet.org.   

 

For more information, please contact Samaritan’s Feet Marketing Director, Todd Melloh at 317-417-3525 or tmelloh@samaritansfeet.org. 

 

 

President of Burundi and chairman of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD). The CNDD was an ethnic Hutu rebel group in Burundi, but transformed itself into a political party.

 

Nkurunziza was born in 1963 in Burundi's capital city of Bujumbura. He attended primary school in Ngozi  province and secondary school in Kitega before graduating from the University of Burundi in 1990. At the university, he majored in education and sports.

 

His father, Eustache Ngabisha, was elected to the Parliament of Burundi in 1965 and later became governor of two provinces before being killed in 1972 during a period of ethnic violence that claimed the lives of over 100,000 Burundians.

 

Nkurunziza was a lecturer at Burundi University when civil war broke out in the country following the assassination of Burundi's first ethnic Hutu president, Melchior Ndadaye, in 1993.

He joined the CNDD-FDD in 1995 as a soldier after the army attacked the university campus. In a 2004 interview with the IRIN humanitarian news agency, he recalls the events that occurred:

 

After rising through the ranks, Nkurunziza was appointed deputy secretary-general of the CNDD-FDD in 1998. In 2001, he was elected chairman. There was a split in the group in late 2001. He was re-elected to the post of chairman in August 2004.

Since late 2003, he had served as Minister for Good Governance in the transitional government of President Domitien Ndayizeye.

 

Following a series of CNDD-FDD victories in elections held during June and July 2005, Nkurunziza was nominated as the party's presidential candidate. He was elected president unopposed by members of  parliament (acting as an electoral college) on 19 August 2005 and took office on 26 August 2005.

 

A self-described  'born again' Christian, Pierre Nkurunziza married his wife in 1994 and is the father of two boys. He was one of seven children. Two of his siblings were killed after the civil war erupted in 1993 and three others died while fighting in the CNDD-FDD. Only one of his siblings, a sister, is alive today.