By Charlotte Hutchinson, GLO Trustee.

For a long time, I have felt drawn to stand with and pray for the ‘GLO ladies’ – a mixture of women leading Partner organisations and the precious wives of our male leaders. It’s been a joy to gather together with them on my recent visits to Burundi and to facilitate honest conversations about our daily joys and heartaches, often with tears.

Personally, I couldn’t survive my Christian journey without special prayer partners to share with regularly – but I recently learned this was an alien concept in Burundian culture. From the cradle, many have been taught not to trust anyone, nor share their feelings because of the risk of gossip and shame, an instinct surely reinforced by the country’s history of ethnic violence.

This means that these dear courageous women are often desperately isolated as they juggle work, home and ministry life in exceptionally difficult circumstances, compounded by the complexities of being in positions of leadership. It’s been so exciting and liberating to laugh, share and weep together, and deepen trust and friendships. Please pray that these ladies would continue to meet regularly and develop deep friendships in spite of the many pressures they face.