The Batwa
In 1991, the Batwa pygmies, indigenous forest nomads of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, were removed from the forest when it was made a World Heritage Site to help protect the endangered mountain gorillas living there. The exiled Batwa, who had thrived as hunter-gatherers for millennia in the rainforest, were left in extreme poverty, homeless and destitute, with no land of their own, limited job skills, and few options for improving their lives. Your support can help empower the Batwa to flourish again.
“Our mission is to provide resources for health, education, spiritual outreach and economic empowerment for the benefit
of the Batwa pygmies and adjacent communities.
With your partnership in these programs, we envision that
the Batwa and surrounding communities will—by the grace
of God—achieve life in
all its fullness.”
— Dr. Scott Kellermann
The Batwa are one of the oldest people groups in Africa. For millenia these equatorial hunter-gatherers depended on their ancestral home, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
They flourished in the rainforest depending on it for the food, medicinal herbs and shelter.
Being one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, Bwindi is home to an incredible array of plant and animal life including the mountain gorillas. In 1991, the same year the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest was made a UNESCO World Heritage Park, the Batwa were forcibly evicted from the rainforest to protect the endangered mountain gorillas living there. Even though the Batwa had never hunted the primates and shared the forest with them in peace, they were still forcibly and suddenly evicted from their ancestral home without any compensation or system of help.
The Batwa, with little knowledge about farming or building rudimentary homes, were simply left to fend for themselves on the outskirts of the forest among the predominant tribal groups. Enduring intense exploitation, starvation and fatal diseases, the Batwa themselves were facing extinction.
“One day, soldiers told us to go to the county headquarters. Then we were led out of the forest. They said, 'Wherever we send you now, you cannot come back. You cannot live here in the forest anymore.' We had no other choice but to run away because we could not stay there and be killed. When they made us leave our homes, our families became servants to the local people. Even today we cannot go back into the forest without permission.”
James Barangirana, Batwa Elder
Homeless and destitute with limited job skills and few options for improving their lives, the Batwa needed help.
Today, with the help of the Kellermann Foundation, the Batwa are thriving, yet much work still remains to empower the Batwa to fully flourish once again.
“Now is the time to stand firm and redouble our efforts to bring God’s hope to some of the poorest people on earth. We have been so encouraged and heartened to witness people stepping up to help the Batwa. The Batwa are grateful for your love and support.”