"Leo"

One of the wonderful privileges of my new post at Daystar is working with our scholarship students. Already I have been reading some of the stories of our fantastic students. What a blessing!

Leo hales from Burundi, from a tribe called Batwa, they are commonly known as Pygmies. When I was a child I remember hearing stories of these very small people that lived in the wilds of deepest, darkest Africa.

As it turns out Pygmies (Batwa) are discriminated against by all the people groups that surround them. For generations they have believed their neighbors were right when they referred to them as animals. This attitude by those surrounding tribes had become a self-fulfilling prophecy for most every Batwa.

When Leo heard the good news that he was in fact included in those Christ came to die for, he was a changed man! Defying the odds against him he began telling his people the good news of Jesus Christ and helping others see they are not animals but God’s children.

Today Leo is one of our scholarship students in community development at Daystar University with a strong vision to return to his people and help them see their own dignity in Christ. He is material for leadership in the future of his people, servant leadership – the kind of quality folks Daystar turns out.

It’s an honor to serve such people.