10 MILES: THE BEAUTY OF BURUNDI

Burundi is one of the smallest countries in Africa, but within its tiny borders there is a vast array of landscapes. From rolling hills, to hidden waterfalls and beautiful lake side beaches, the beauty of Burundi will amaze you.

One of the most striking regions is Songa, which happens to be Gilbert's home village. The landscape here is a beautiful, rolling mixture of family farms, dirt roads, and lush green foliage. On any given day you will likely come across a young boy herding cattle as they graze available forage and a mom with her children carrying water jugs back to their homes. One of the tallest peaks in Songa is the Ndago Mountain, topping out at nearly 7,000 feet in elevation. Although Gilbert's daily trek to school as a young boy did not include climbing this peak, he did traverse multiple valleys with hundreds of feet in elevation change. Banana trees cover the region and so you will share the road with locals transporting bunches of bananas on their bikes, stacked so high and wide you wonder how they stay upright. The banana trees also serve as easy entertainment: children use the wide, slick leaves from the banana trees to slide down mountainsides. 

The Songa Commune is also the site of the Gazelle Foundation's first water system completed in 2007. While very few have plumbing within their homes, every resident in the area now has access - usually within 400 meters - to clean drinking water.

Another equally impressive site is the hidden gem of Karera Falls. Approximately 80 m tall, Karera Falls are some of the most impressive and beautiful natural landmarks in Burundi and have been a protected area since 1980. The Falls are actually a series of waterfalls with three main cascades and numerous smaller ones. Once merged together, they form a river that flows all the way to Lake Tanganyika. Growing along the falls is a dense gallery forest with massive trees indigenous to the area, which provide refuge for monkeys and various species of birds.

The site is beloved tourist destination both for locals and tourists, and is believed to have exotic, healing waters. People travel from all over to bathe in the soothing waters hoping to cure various ailments.