September Newsletter

September was a month of new beginnings. Urukundo Learning Center began the 2026-27 school year.

The term break gave us time to brighten our world. Art is this month’s focus. Deck the walls with information. A welcoming sight: bare, drab walls are gone. Our walls now tell a story. 

From our beginning, the administration knew our vision, values, goals, and objectives. Our teachers, visitors, volunteers, and neighbors did not. The Learning Center entrance wall is the perfect place for a presentation. Now everyone will have access to this information.

Have you wondered what our objectives are? Sharing this information with you.

We are blessed with wonderful artists in Rwanda. Art can brighten the walls in our homes and campus walls. We are delighted with the results of our efforts to brighten our environment. Hope you share that joy with us.

Big changes

The Urukundo Learning Center continues to grow.

Here’s a  2023 photo of the Urukundo Learning Center campus.

Take a look at this 2026 photo to see what you made possible. A Hope Made Real. Notice the two-story building at the top right – our new Secondary School and our first two-story building.

The artist's conception of Rwanda and Urukundo Foundation.

Urukundo’s location

Africa is our continent.

Geographically, East Africa is our domain. We are landlocked. Small but mighty.

This sight greets our children each school day.

We don't really have horses at the Urukundo farm. Alligators are also not possible in Urukundo Village. Art is art for art's sake. Our artist is amazing.

Wildlife in Rwanda

The peace basket and a few artifacts related to African culture.

Traditional dancers

Inside this wall is the foote ball (soccer) field; the outside view you see is parking for our buses to pick up kids.

One entrance to Urukundo Village.Mama’s house is inside these walls.

Our students have ambitions. Our focus is to help them reach their goals.

Serving the community

Caring for newborns and their mamas continues. Twins are awesome. 

The Worship Center closet is in operation. God in charge. Prayers needed.

Urukundo Director Jean Marie and Headmaster Viateur distributed educational materials to community families whose children attend public schools. Two of the mamas representing their students receiving materials. Education is essential on every level. Sharing is what we do. Thank you all for making this mission a success.

New Secondary School opens

We received  400  applications for teaching positions at the Secondary School. The applicants arrived for qualifying tests. Those who made the cut then came for interviews. From that group, we hired four teachers. The Secondary School opening also has made it possible to employ two guards and three cleaners. Adding nine new hires means nine families now have income, health insurance, and a more secure future.  We now employ 128 Rwandan citizens from 128 families. 

The hired Secondary School teachers have found our music department to their liking.

Emmanuel: languages (English, Kinyarwanda, etc.)

Aurea: geography

Henry: chemistry and biology

Sylvan: math and physics

Our kindergarten students like the music program also.

First day of school

Campus photos on Sept. 7, first day of the 2026-27 school year.

Upper grades, no tears. 

Remember we have more than 1,200 students plus Secondary and Nunnally Sewing Center students. Together we are making a difference.

Here are some of the students in our new Secondary School. It serves grades 7 and 8 (S1 and S2) and later will expand to grade 9 (S3).

The Secondary School beginning was impressive. Teachers and students assembled in front of the new complex on Sept. 7.

The official name for our school is the Campbell Secondary School. It is named after Neal and the late Barbara Campbell, from New Jersey, USA, who funded the school construction.

It is our honor to name established facilities after our patrons. For example, the Nunnally 

Sewing Center honors the late Tom Nunnally and his wife Carolyn. The Glascow School of the Arts is named for the late Rev. Margerie Glascow.

Students carry flowers to place at the memory stone in honor of  patron Barbara Campbell. Her love made this secondary education program possible.

Secondary students modeling 

Official school uniforms

Lesson in tying a tie

This is a skill I have never mastered. Good luck, kids.

The students also have official sports attire.

A bonus for me. Daycare kids also returned Sept. 7 and came running to Mama's house. 

My favorite picture of all time is when one of the little ones placed their hand in mine to compare size and color. No, I did not change clothes. This happened a week later, Sept. 14. The storybook on my lap is Ten Little Fingers, Two Small Hands by Kristy Dempsey.

Message from Mama

Between 2006 and 2017, Urukundo was home to 54 children ranging from newborns to teenagers to university graduates. Thirty-one have completed university or technical college, thanks to our generous donors.

In 2017, 23 of the younger children were moved into biological families or foster homes under a national directive. However, having the financial resources to pay school and university fees was not one of the criteria for selecting these homes. When the children left Urukundo, many sponsors who had supported them dropped away. However, because education has always been at the core of Urukundo's work, we continued to support our children through primary and secondary school by paying the fees directly to the schools.

It’s hard to believe that five of these babies are ready for university – but they are! They have dreams and goals. I need your help to keep supporting them in their education. Urukundo has an education fund. A small or large contribution would help us build on what we already receive from donors and what their families can contribute. 

Donations can be sent to Hope Made Real, PO Box 3222, Williamsport, PA 17701 USA.

With your help, most of them may be able to complete university or technical school. As summer draws to a close, a new school year begins, and thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and Christmas, please consider donating to the Education Support Fund for 2027.

With love and appreciation,

Mama

Special visitors in August

Rafiki, his wife and children visited. Rafiki and I go back a long way. He was my first technical support person. A few years later, I attended his wedding. It was a pleasure to meet his children.

The children enjoyed the activity room.

Extra special

It is always an extra special pleasure when my grown Urukundo kids come home to spend time with Mom.

The visit by Tresor, Sandra, and grandchild Eva did my heart good.

Eva being cute.

This visitor in my side yard was very special. Didn’t stay long.

Changes that matter

Preparing the entrance wall at the school campus for posting important information. A clean white wall to write on.

Hope Made Real logo on the left; Urukundo Learning Center insignia on the right.

The same wall features values, vision, and mission for all to see and read. Great to see the Hope Made Real emblem and school insignia in print.

The artistic messages on the outside Learning Center wall.

Creating a Center for the Arts

Last month’s newsletter focused on how the Urukundo music program grew. This month’s newsletter looks at the creation of Urukundo’s Center for the Arts, which includes a library.

My home for girls was an idea that, over time, became a reality — the first “Hope Made Real.” Our first home in Gitarama had no books. There were none and none available. My first plea for help was, “Please send me some story books, especially Bible story books.” The response was heartwarming. Books came. My bedroom became my office and a place for books.

In those early days, space was limited. I put a small shelf in my bedroom, and our first library was established. Really, you had to use your imagination to call it a library, but it was the beginning. I collected reading material in Kinyarwanda, but more in English. The library kept growing; with every move, we always made space for library books.

Most of the books we received then were picture books. Kids can read pictures whèn words are not understood. The library stayed in my bedroom for many years.

The shelves just kept getting bigger. Moving to a house of my own when we added boys gave me an empty room and a space for the library where the kids could sit and enjoy the books. That didn’t last long because we moved the boys to our present location, and both the office and the library went back into my bedroom.

Our first real library was in the original Hope House, which is now the head office. This building was our first attempt at a multi-purpose building. A place where kids could play, have parties, have devotions, and an area to have shelves set up for books and a mat to sit on to read. It really did feel like a library. This happened after we moved to our present location. Finally, the library was out of my bedroom.

Even here, visitor Jeanne Willis, a volunteer, sat on the floor to share books with the children.

After several years and the establishment of a learning center, the library was moved into the school compound. This made it more accessible for our students.

Pastor Margarie Glascow, a dear friend, gifted Urukundo Foundation in her last days with a donation, which was used to establish the Glascow Center for the Arts, which became a Hope Made Real. This refurbished building included the library.

Thanks to Carol Falke, president of the International Board of Hope Made Real,  excellent books arrived. 

Carol brought precious books in suitcases.

As the school grew, a place for study and research became necessary.

The space between the library and the retaining wall would work.

This required taking down the library outer wall and building a new retaining wall to hold the mountain. While visiting with Pierce and Katie Keeting’s family in the Philadelphia area earlier in the year, I received a large donation to improve the library. Work started at once. Thank you, Keetings.

We now have a study space with tables, chairs, and a quiet environment.

Visitor Erin Friday and teacher I’rene inspected the new study area. It appeared this should be a completed library project, but it wasn’t. The library also contained many educational toys and games, but only the teachers had access to them.

Urukundo needed four more classrooms, so we built five rooms close to the library, but they are not connected to it and are on a slightly different level. 

By now I am sure you have guessed where this is going. The library was overwhelmed with activities and had little space to read and enjoy books. With an extra room, we could have an activity room where kids could use our educational toys and games, work with puzzles, and enjoy break times.

In no time, we realized the activity room and the library should be one to operate efficiently. Both the library and the activity room were too small. To meet the need, we again found space between the buildings to enlarge the activity room. The process began.

Front construction. Back view. When all the walls were removed and the roof was extended, it became one big room. 

The expanded Center for the Arts was finished in June 2025.

Cream-colored area is the library; the first large window is usable space that connects the library and activity room. The area after the two columns is the activity room. 

Inside the refurbished activity room

A place for art

Stenciling, coloring, and drawing

Floor games and table games.

Miniature train track sets teach our future engineers.

Instructor Clyde Santana from the USA introduced theater through puppets, a great art form. The enlarged and combined Center for the Arts made this possible.

The Center for the Arts: an exciting place to be.

Here are some comments from library and activity room students; a librarian; and a volunteer.

Queen Karen, the 2025-26 academic year’s best reader:

“The library is a place where I feel at home. When I sit here for reading, I feel happy,” she said.

 “In the library, I can make friends with whom we would read together.  My friend is called Arcange. She likes books about animals,” she said.

Other students also have lots of comments about Urukundo’s library.

“I think there is more in Urukundo’s library.”

“I can talk about library, but let me talk about some.”

“I can speak English because of reading books.”

“I learn new words when I read.” 

"I like pretending to cook with pots and pans."

"Playing with kitchen toys helps me learn about cooking."

"I enjoy making imaginary meals for my family and friends."

"Kitchen play is fun because I can be a chef."

"I learn the names of different kitchen tools while playing."

"Playing with kitchen utensils helps me be creative."

"I like mixing, stirring, and serving food in my pretend kitchen."  

"I like playing with baby dolls because I can pretend to take care of a baby."

“Playing with dolls teaches me how to be kind and responsible."

"I enjoy dressing, feeding, and putting my doll to sleep."

"Baby dolls help me use my imagination."

"I like pretending that my doll is part of my family."

"Playing with dolls is fun and helps me learn caring skills."

After spending time in the library with the children, Doreen Mileto, one of the volunteers from the USA, said, "I am impressed by this library. It offers a wide variety of books and provides a peaceful place for students to read, learn, and succeed."

Clemantine, the library assistant, is a real asset. She organizes activities and connects reading material with activities. She welcomes everyone and offers help where it is needed. Thank you, Clemantine.

Message from Mama

Dear Reader,

As we look forward to the start of a new school year, I want to thank everyone who helped to make a difference in our children's lives and made the last 20 years a success. It could not have happened without your caring and sharing. My vision is that the next 20 years will continue to be as productive for Urukundo Learning Center and Hope Made Real as the last 20. 

Life goes on. Care, share, and love. 

Mama Arlene