Happy New Year!

I know that is the appropriate greeting for a New Year!  We are stepping into 2014 with courage and conviction.

January started with a New Year's celebration. I must admit I stopped in for just a few minutes. I was quite sure 2014 would come in without my help. There was sumbosa and Fanta and the older kids invited friends to come to Hope House for food, Music, very loud music and dancing. The friends then spent the night and had breakfast in the morning before heading home. It was something special for the kids.

Getting ready for the party

Walk with me through happenings in 2013

2013 was an awesome year for Urukundo Home and Learning Center. Briefly here are a few highlights of our  accomplishments in 2013 and our goals for 2014.

Getting Ready for the Party.

#1

3 new children come to our family in 2013.

Jacob arrived as a day-old baby boy.

This is Jacob today. He is one year old, and is walking. He has just had his birthday and is a beautiful boy.

Kaboss was a 3 year old in need of a home and love.

Kaboss now. He attends Preschool and loves it.

Jenett arrived as a one-day-old baby girl.

Jenett - now a 3 month old! Smiling, responding to voices and making baby sounds. She is a love.

We have and are supporting with the help of our sponsors in Urukundo Home for Children:

25 Secondary Students

9 Primary

5 Preschool

6 Kindergarden

5 in Nursery under 3 years.

#2. Urukundo Employees

39 full time workers from the community (this includes guards, mamas, farm help, teachers and 5 part-time for agriculture (planting and harvesting).

#3. Urukundo Learning Center

2 classrooms for Primary 2 and a music room completed and in operation.

Furniture built and delivered.

Music & Arts & Crafts classroom.

We invite teachers with a love of art and music to come and volunteer at Urukundo and lend their talents to our teachers and begin the development of a program for our students. If you love a challenge this will be right up your alley! Come to Urukundo enjoy the children, and become a valued member of our learning team at the ULC. 

Classroom #1

Classroom #2

Urukundo Foundation Education Fund

We have successfully sent 329 students through Primary School. This was a 6 year project started in 2007. This gift was to provide uniforms, shoes, exercise books, pens, jackets and school fees. It included children from neighboring communities. My thanks to all who made this project a success. This funding of $15 per student per year took place at the end of each year.

It is my hope you will continue this gift giving as support for students in our community who need assistance attending school. Education is essential! We are caring for the needs of 35 students in the public school and 45 children from poor circumstances who attend our school and pay no tuition and are helped by this fund. We also have 197 children who pay partial tuition. Your help is needed to allow us to continue this support for education and for our school to grow.

At present we have 3 Preschool classes with 88 students who attend in the mornings.

3 Kindergarten classes with 69 students who attend in the afternoons.

2 Primary one class rooms educating 60 students.

Library

2 Primary 2 classrooms with 58 students.

A Music and Arts Department.

This number will increase each year as new student enrollment numbers increase.

The number of children we can educate is unlimited but we need to add classrooms! Our need is great.