And the the tree came tumbling down. (This time not the wall.)
What a surprise waking one morning, looking out the window and seeing my front yard a jungle. During the night, a huge limb on the tree in the front yard decided it no longer wanted it be a part of the whole tree. It broke away and filled half the yard and the drive with it branches.
Soso, Jacob (little Benj) and Benjamin inspect the damage.
Beautiful people from many walks of life come together in unity and love at Urukundo.
Love Is All Around
February is the love month. The perfect month for the LOVE (Urukundo) FOUNDATION. I hope each of you are our Valentine. There is so much love here with lots to share.
Belise and Esperance
Babies from Mama & Baby Center share love.
We are ever in need of infant clothes for Valentine babies who remain in our hearts.
More love. Kiriku, Joyce, Jacob, Banitha. Friends.
Betty is also a Valentine. She has been the main caregiver in the boys house since 2006. She should be a great mom when she has her own kids as she has had lots of practice in the years she has served Urukundo’s boys and girls. Congratulations, Betty, and a happy marriage to Etienne from Mama and all your Urukundo family. 
Thank you for inviting us to this happy event.
Here it is: another whole new year given to us as a gift. What new beginnings will we make in 2018 and how well will we work with projects from 2017 that were not finished?
Looking at our 2017 goals, many were accomplished. The building project for Preschool has been finished, giving us six Preschool classrooms.
Primary 1 through Primary 6 now have 12 classrooms. This was completed ahead of schedule.
A new guardhouse at the gate of the village is under construction. This will give our guard protection from the rain, and he still will be at the gate.
One school bus was purchased, and we were halfway toward the purchase of a second, larger bus. I couldnít get a photo of half a bus. Sorry. But here's the first one we bought.
Six new teachers were added to our school in December.
Bob and Amy Dove joined the Urukundo family and plan to be here for a year. They are improving our school with added training for our teachers.
For a yearís stay, it was decided they should have a house of their own. They are living in a house about a two-minute walk from Urukundo Village. Great to have this young couple with us.
Amy at work
Our community outreach focus is getting the ICDL computer center off the ground and running. This is Bob Dove's project. It is ready to roll.
Bob putting it all together.
Construction of the new computer lab and teaching center for the ICDL and the school is complete. They are in operation. More computers are needed. If you are upgrading your present computer and it is still good, think about contacting Carol Falke (falkes@verizon.net) and dispose of your old one for a good cause. It must be not junk.
In 2017, we welcomed Pastor Yves to Urukundo Worship Center as spiritual guide and counselor for the staff, children and community.
Yes, 2017 was an awesome year, thanks to all of you.
It's a short walk as the crow flies to a manmade lake near our home. OK, so not near if you are walking up and down the hills, but an enjoyable walk for kids and adults.
Resting after the walk.
The lake really does exist. We love it.
There's jubilation on their successful return trip home. Pastor and Chanel took charge.
November started of with a bang. A dental team of 3 came for 3½ days to take part in our dental program and also work with our head dentist Edmund at Kabgayi Hospital Clinic.
Brittany did scaling at our facility while the other two worked with fillings at Kabgayi. During her days here 34 patients were cared for and the kids got lots of love. During her stay with us she received a new name. She said jokingly with the kids 'My name is Potato' because they were having trouble remembering Brittany! So her Urukundo name is Potato. I suppose she is a white potato. For sure she is a sweet potato!
Charmaine and Troy Michelson and Brittany made a super team. They are very special people. Troy played piggy back with the kids the night they arrived. That was fun especially for the kids. I think they called him a horse. This was play our kids had not experienced before!
KARATE:
There are 20 kids in the Saturday morning Karate class. 9 are our kids, 11 are from the community and the group comprises both boys & girls. It is awesome to watch these kids and the master at work. It is work with dedication.
Our 5 first and 4 second graders love karate!
When the team is ready they will compete with other teams of their age.
Our master teaches as a volunteer.
We could not afford ready-made uniforms from stores in Kigali town so our Sewing Center took a pattern, bought material and made uniforms. They are great. Good work, sewing students! These uniforms are also available to the neighborhood parents. They can buy them for their kids at an affordable price.
I think the kids look great - comments from our readers are appreciated!
One of the neighborhood kids has a yellow belt. I'm not sure what that means in terms of advancement for children even though my son Ted is a black belt!
Volunteer Master & kids: Pete in a brown belt. He is very good with the kids.
Can you believe I forgot our founding anniversary until I received congratulations from a friend at Akilah Institute for Women? I can’t believe I did that.
These are some facts and the progress made in the past 8 years. How time has flown.
May 2014 is the 8th anniversary of Urukundo Foundation.
MAY 6, 2006 Urukundo had its simple beginning.
A rented house, one child, one mama, one guard and me.
May is a very special time for the Urukundo Family.
For those of you who are new to the Urukundo Foundation family and for all you who have been part of the family for a long time I thank you for the love and support you have given. A few reminders of happenings in the last 8 years.
My family in America is awesome and continues to grow with 2 new babies in the past year.
I raised my family in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Lately I am from Pittsburgh as well as Williamsport. I am blessed to be mom to 5, grandmother of 16 and Great Grandmother of 17.
I have had a full life and it expanded when I moved to Rwanda after the genocide to care for vulnerable children. Our children range in ages from 19 years to 1 week old. Our most recent arrival, a little boy, came to us only hours old. 28 kids are in secondary school (high school) 17 are in Pre to P2, and 2 are in public school. 4 are in the nursery. That should add up to 51. Yes I do know all their names and ages but I have to check my records to know when birthdays are. Hey, I'm a mom and I have the same problems with my bunch in the US.
Urukundo Village began in May 2006 as a home for girls, in a year a home for boys was added. When babies entered my life a nursery was needed. From there the farm became a part of the Village. On our farm we have cows, pigs, chickens, goats (both milk and meat) and rabbits.
With help from Rotary International a clean and free water supply was constructed for the community. Later the Urukundo Learning Center, a Sewing Initiative and a Dental Initiative plus a small shop where we can sell milk and eggs and products made at the sewing were put in place.
The need for quality education for the poor children in the district became apparent. That need included the kids at Urukundo Village.
Now our village has a home for boys, a home for girls, a nursery, a farm with animals and gardens where we grow much of our own food. A day care for community parents, a preschool, kindergarten, Primary one, primary 2 Music room, and a Library. We have an enrollment in our classes of 295 students. Of that number only 15 come from our home, 280 are from the community. 45 are very poor and pay no tuition. We employ 45 Rwandese citizens and hire new employees from the District thus supporting the economy.
We have seen many changes in our compound and witnessed many changes in the community because we are here. We hope to have a celebration to mark our 10th anniversary in 2 years. Start planning a trip now so that many of you can join us in the celebration. Remember 2016 is the year.
This is a summary of 8 years because you have cared and continue to help us make a difference.
The end of April means sending the big kids off to Boarding School. The “stay at home” younger kids are a big help.
One-year-old Jacob finds a job just his size.
Many hands make a job easy.
Kinella carries necessary supplies.
Gathering the troops.
No more room for a big mattress.
Hmm...how do we solve this problem?
Make it smaller if possible!
Everything fits and is ready to go.
We really will miss these kids. Ok, they come home again in 3 months for a brief holiday!
February was full of exciting events at Urukundo Home & Learning Center.
On February 1st an event that seemed impossible took place. Imagine being able to be fitted for a custom garment, and then have a photo op in the finished gift - for all 23 children at Urukundo!
The kids were thrilled and had a great time when Janet and Angela Murray, seamstresses from Canada came to visit. They bought material at the market and worked with the staff at the sewing Center to complete their project.
A dress for each girl and shorts for each boy. The kids saw the process from start to finish.
The day started sunny and bright. Janet and Angela worked to finish their project as today was their last day to be with the kids.
They were due to leave at 3 PM. Most important they wanted photos. The morning was perfect for photo taking. This is Rwanda!
About 1:30 the sun left and the rain came. This was not on our schedule! Photos would have to be taken on the front porch. The lawn would have been so great and the rain would not last long but their timetable was set. Mama's front room became a room of activity as last minute adjustments took place and play clothes were chucked and finishing touches and modeling of handiwork took place. Such fun for Janet, Angela, the mamas, myself and the kids.
Boys model shorts!
while the girls modeled sun dresses. (with boys in the back ground being boys). In the photo:
Janet, Angela, myself & four of our wonderful mamas : Chantel, Delphine, Betty, Francois & the kids.
December has been a month of memories. I am not sure how Facebook works but it does work. My birthday was filled with many surprises as I heard from so many wonderful people in my life and in the life of Urukundo and its special kids.
Kevin my first son in Rwanda ( 2006) adopted me and I adopted him. It was a mutual love relationship that has not changed with time.
Solange, my precious girl, is now living in Texas and going to University. She is such a blessing and I am so proud of her. I miss them both at Urukundo but I know children grow up and move on. Having them wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY was a bonus in counting my blessings.
The Green Hills Nursery had decided to honor Urukundo Home and Learning Center by making our kids "SECRET FRIENDS" for their kids. Staff, parents and children participated to make our Christmas. The children at GHA were as excited as our kids to finally meet their secret friends. They shared play time and exchanged gifts and had lunch together.
The playground for tots was wonderful.
All the gifts under the tree were for Urukundo. 
The whole team from the High School came to see us off. Lucie, Anitha and I got in the picture.
From the youngest to the oldest all had a good time.
