A New Year

The new year started in grand style.

Breakfast with mama.

Delphine, the auntie in charge for the day, along with Claudine, Sarah, John and Soso, joined Mama for breakfast the morning of New Year’s Day. A wonderful meal was prepared by the Urukundo kitchen for us. It consisted of juice, porridge, scrambled eggs, vegetables, pizza rounds, chips, avocado, papaya and the ever-present little bananas. To top off the breakfast, Soso accidentally upset his juice into Claudine’s plate and lap. This made it the perfect breakfast ending, with laughter and mopping up. For me, it was a pure joy just being together.

Following the usual tradition of my youth, I made a New Year's resolution. I am asking: Have you made a New Year’s resolution? Is it broken already? Mine is to walk outdoors for at least a half-hour every day. I am working on it. I must walk inside the campus and not on the street due to the Covid-19 virus. With the accessible walkways constructed in 2020, it is now possible.

Providing a smooth walkway rather than steep irregular steps from my backyard to the campus area makes my walk easier.

Benjamin’s arm is also appreciated.

Meeting the challenges

Urukundo has dealt with many challenges since its founding in 2006. Needless to say, 2020 is the most challenging yet. The major 2020 challenges are sustaining our employees with wages during the shutdown caused by the virus and the new requirements put in place by the Ministry of Education to reopen our school safely. Required are 15 wash stations between classrooms, head thermometers and a quarantine room for isolation should it be needed.
Another challenge is making these mountainous school walkways to classrooms handicap accessible. As I indicated last month, we are doing our best to make that happen. Photos show the work being done.

The long path from the library, with the steps gone, to the primary level classrooms below, makes even walking more comfortable.

There were many steps from the porch to the ground level, and the steps are no more.

There are no more steps from the school office downhill to the teacher resource area.

Our workers appreciate the new walkways. Easier to keep clean.

The slant makes sure rainwater moves away from the building and is not a problem. Dealing with torrential rainstorms and excess water damage are also on the list of challenges we have met and continue to handle.

Fun with photography

Keeping kids busy during the time of no school has been challenging for Urukundo’s staff. We used music for some and photography for others. Give a kid a camera and an interesting experience takes place, not just for the kid but also for the mama (me). I have two cameras I protect with my life. It was hard to give the cameras to the kids, but it was necessary. I am pleased to say they took care of the cameras as I would myself.
I am no judge of photography, but I know what I like, and I like their ideas of good photography. They are very creative and artistic. I have chosen just a few to share. I am sharing these photos taken by the kids, without comment.

Your comments would be appreciated, please.

I repeat, comments, please. Photography for art’s sake.

Mama’s book

For some time now, I have been sharing with you the expected birth of my book. Yep, it is like giving birth. The process takes too long and the labor pains seem to go on forever. Finally, the book is produced. Like with a newborn, I am hoping and praying all is well and everyone will love the new (book) baby.

So, OK. Because I am 89 years old, a baby is not possible, but a new book is. Hope you all like my creation.

My manuscript is “Hope Made Real.” It is now a book and is available in ebook and paperback. While the book can be purchased in several locations, here is the Internet address for people to order my book directly from the bookshop where we earn a great deal more on each book sold. https://store.bookbaby.com/book/hope-made-real

Please note all proceeds from the book go to the Urukundo Learning Center Education Fund.

More information is available on the website. Check in there, please.

Book front cover.

May in Rwanda

May is a beautiful month in Rwanda.

In the morning at Urukundo, the sun is shining, birds are singing and there is no sign of rain.
We are blessed. After the torrential rainstorms and mud floods, this is a welcome relief.

When clouds come down

I share with you one of my favorite sights in Rwanda and what on occasion I can see from the top of my mountain. Remember Rwanda is the land of many mountains of many different sizes; some are considered hills.

Here in Rwanda we have small and large volcanoes.They are beautiful but when active dangerous. Most are not active.

The volcanos reach high into the sky. Usually you cannot see their tops as the cloud cover hides them from view. There are four in this area of Ruhengeri. Two are visible from our school on a clear day.

Small and large close together. Top not visible on tall one.

When the tops are visible, they are a beautiful sight to behold.

There are occasions when the cloud cover is so intense that it covers not only the volcano but it comes down to the top of our mountain.

My home is close to the top of a high mountain, so clouds move in on us at times. That was the case one morning in May. Looking out my door, I could not see beyond my hand. The cloud was like a huge blanket. Everything waits for the clouds to lift.

I love the differences in Rwanda and like sharing them with you.

Out and about

After being released from isolation, my first venture out was to visit the school and the project in progress. I was pleased at what I saw happening. It is good to know life goes on at Urukundo even if I am in isolation.

I was amazed at how liberating just the ability to walk to the school was. Such an adventure!
I take time to rest beneath a tree near the library. Still going strong, just a bit slower,

Weather report

The saying is: April showers bring May flowers. Not so in Rwanda. The rain storms this month have been terrible. They are much worse than usual, and usual was bad enough.

We have not had a total dry season for about a year and Africa's weather has changed so much. Climate change is very evident. It is a bit confusing for the farm people. When to plant is the question. Heavy rain washes away the seeds.

With all the thunder and lightning, I appreciate our donors who sent money for us to erect lightning arrestors at the school and in the village. Those arrestors have saved lives not only for Urukundo but for the community. The land of a thousand hills is lovely but dangerous if there is no protection from electrical storms.

Mudslides from the rainstorms have destroyed many homes, taken many lives and in some cases washed away whole villages. Many of our staff have had home damage (Pastor Yves for one). Mud bricks are susceptible to rain. They’re somewhat like sugar cubes being exposed to drops of water over an extended period of time. Slowly, slowly they dissolve. Best description I can think of.

The US embassy warned of heavy rainstorms on April 18,19 and 20. They were right. These storms have continued. We have dug deep ditches and tried to accommodate excessive runoff to protect the village. The plan was for the water to run past my house to the main road where drainage was available. It did not go past my house. Instead, the deluge was aimed at my house. My home had not been in jeopardy before, but by taking steps to protect Urukundo Village, it was.

The first storm came at night. Lying in my bed, listening to the thunder and watching a late night lightning show is intimidating. The flashes lit up the room. It was like someone was turning off and on a huge flashlight. I am not afraid of thunder. It is a big noise. Am I afraid of lightning? Of course, I am. The two go together.

The second storm was even worse than the first. There was rain, tons of groundwater, heavy wind, lightning bolts and strikes, loud thunder and no visibility. The area around my house was a raging river. My front yard was a boiling lake. I have experienced floods in the USA, but from creeks rising, giving time to evacuate and not from water pouring down from the top of a mountain with no warning. This was different. Neither are any fun, and both are lots of cleanup work.

Progress is being made.

After the first storm, it was necessary to protect the foundation of my home and guest house. To provide an outlet for the water, it was necessary to remove some of the cement blocking the flow. Digging a ditch to connect our excess water to the drainage ditch along the main road required a ditch alongside my driveway. Let's hope it works.

Out my bedroom window. Day worker working hard.

Well, guess what didn’t work. Surprise, surprise.

The protection needed to be expanded. Benjamin and two workers, allowed by the village leader even with the distance rule, extended the ditch directing the water away from my house. Pickaxe, shovel, wheelbarrow and a lot of muscle are what it took to divert the stormwater away from my house.

Latest version of the ditch on April 25.

At the top of the steps lies the garden that flooded earlier. All water at the upper level and the top of the mountain now will travel the new ditch and pass by the red ledge corner of my house and into the drainage ditch at the road.

This one worked.

Storms continued beyond the embassy’s forecast, but now the water bypasses my house. I thank God for the workers who tirelessly continue working to keep me safe from mudslides, floods and the Pandemic virus.

Mama’s book alert

I look forward to when the book “Hope Made Real” is published and I can come to the USA to share it with you. I will be available for book signing and sharing my favorite passages. Bookings later.

Hoping it will be in the fall or early spring. A lot depends on this very contagious virus. In the meantime, I would like to share excerpts I feel appropriate with you.

It seems this segment from Page 112 about a time when I was a speaker in the worship service fits well with April and the Easter season:

While I was still serving as the speaker, a special Sunday in April was a challenge. Each April the country sets aside a time of remembrance for those who died during the genocide. It is such a sad time for the Rwandese. By government decree, there are to be no festivities or celebrations during the entire month of April. Weddings and parties are taboo. Singing and dancing are prohibited.

Yet, every four years this mournful national observance falls at the same time as the Christian celebration of Easter. My kids and the worshipping community look forward to the fun and joy of Easter morning. The older girls practice for weeks to present a traditional dance and the children’s choirs practice new selections. This year we had to tell the children that none of this was allowed. The younger ones could not understand the reasoning for this gloom.

As luck would have it, I was to give the Sunday message. I tossed and turned all night deciding what I could say that would respect the Rwandan observance of remembrance yet still celebrate the risen Christ of Easter. The next morning rising up from my chair in the front row and stepping up onto the platform here is the essence of what I said.

“This morning we, with our country, feel sad for people who died during a very troubled time. None of you children had been born yet, but it is important for you to know what happened and to honor those who died. We also feel happy because it is Easter when we celebrate the risen Christ. None of those living today were born when that happened either. We can feel both sad and happy at the same time; sad for those who died, and happy to celebrate Easter. We grieve for what is lost and rejoice for what is gained.”
Thank goodness, as I sat down the children rescued me by launching into the song, Because He Lives in English and then in Kinyarwanda. I was so pleased. Afterwards, the service ended in silence and everyone departed quietly.

A cooking adventure

OK, so boredom makes people do things not common to that person.

Long ago, I gave up cooking. Hey, I cooked most of my life. My mom started me cooking when I was young and the oldest girl in a large family. I love being in Rwanda where someone else does the cooking.

To get on with my story: Urukundo has a farm with lots of chickens. Chickens have wings. Wings can be barbecued. Barbecued wings are great. I called the farm manager, Eugene, and I asked if I could get a kilogram of wings. They were delivered and so my adventure began.

I checked to make sure I had electricity for the slow cooker my daughter Patricia sent from the USA. Then I mixed a sauce from scratch. Anybody have a good simple barbecue sauce recipe? I placed the wings and sauce in the cooker. Turned on the electricity, set the dials and waited.

Yep, they were delicious. OK, so it doesn’t take a chef, but I felt very smart when those in my shutdown house raved about how good they were. I've still got it.

Best part is I did not have to do the cleanup. Hated washing dishes as a kid. Still hate washing dishes.

This might be a treat I could offer volunteers in the future. Have to think about that.
Probably not.