Special Notice

On March 15, 2019, I will arrive in the USA. I am looking forward to spring in Pennsylvania.

March, April and May are special months as it is a time of renewal after a long winter.

This visit is basically for visiting Urukundo and personal friends and my family as well as for telling the continuing story of Urukundo Foundation and encouraging others to become part of our support system for this mission.

My home base will be Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with my daughter, Dr. Patricia Brown.

I hope to see many of you during the two and a half months I will be home in the USA.

More details as plans continue to progress.

Much ado about buses

In 2017, Urukundo purchased its first bus. We had money for only a small bus.

It has been our policy to purchase only what we have funding to pay for. We purchased this little bus (minibus).

Then we were able to purchase a big bus. With the big bus plus the minibus, we are able to plan field trips, sports events and special outings for our school children and staff.

A third bus was needed.

The news just got better.

Thanks to Rotary Club of Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and The Rotary Club of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, funding has arrived to purchase another big bus.

Starting the school year in 2019, we will have a minibus and two big buses for transporting our children. The buses also are a source of revenue as rentals on weekends.

The new bus is now in the garage being painted, and we are in the process of hiring another driver. It will be in service for start of school on Jan. 14, 2019.

The parking space at the school for the new bus will have a plaque saying, "In memorandum of Tom Nunnally, donated by the Rotary Clubs of Forest Hills and Willkinsburg, Pa.”

Special staff event

A special event in 2018 was for the Urukundo Village support staff. This included office staff, home mamas, kitchen staff, farmers, guards and cleaners. Two big buses were needed for the trip to the King’s Palace in Nyanza and dinner after the tour. This was the first time for many of the staff to visit this wonderful part of their history.

Special dancing cows at the palace.

Graduation 2018

All non-graduating and graduate students gather at school for the parade to the foote ball field.

Students and graduates coming together.

Starting the parade to the site of graduation. Ready, set, go!

Kindergarten Graduates and the Preschool teacher, Erneste.

Primary 6 graduated, pictured with the Primary English teacher, Ignace.

Sewing Center Graduates with the teacher of tailoring, Desire.

Walking the distance from the Learning Center road to Mama’s gate.

Mama & Pastor Yves join the Kindergarten parade at Mama’s gate. We’re so happy that the road was completed before this event.

Primary 6 graduates, Mama and Pastor Yves.

Sewing Center, Mama & Pastor. The walkway beside Mama’s house leading into the compound from the main road.

Entering the Foote Ball field.

The Kindergarten is seated.

After seating the Kindergarten class the parade proceeds, with P6, Sewing Center & undergraduates arriving at the field.

Music Program and the New Music Director, Emmanuel

Recorders and flutes in the school P5 & P6 chorus.

Students show their skill on the violin, the bells, and the xylophone.

Drums.

The Director of Music struts his stuff. Good job.

The drum set we rented. Next year we hope to have our own.

P1 through P4 chorus.

Speakers for Graduation

Our Master of Ceremonies was Remy Paul Dushime, teacher of English.

The Headmaster of Urukundo Learning Center, Irene Dushimana.

The Vice President of the Parent-Teacher committee, Dilexi Birasa Aloys.

Our Guest of Honor was Valerie D Mukamutari, Exective Secretary of the Cyeza Sector.

Mama with Olive translating.

The speakers for Kindergarten Talia Ruremesha and Hope Bertha Isingizwe.

Talia gives Mama a hug.

Programs

The Cultural Dancing Club.

The girls in the National Cultural Dance group put on a great show!

The boys in the National Cultural Dance group.

Backing singers for the Cultural Dance group.

The Precision Marching group.

More marching.

French club.

Certificates

Benita receiving her certificate.

Emily receives her certificate. She’s now in Primary 1.

Jacob almost lost his hat but hangs on to his certificate!

Kindergarten.

Sewing Center. Certificates for all. So proud of them.

Although P6 graduated from Urukundo Learning Center, they will receive their certificates after the results of the National Exams.

Some of the non-graduating students who are participating in the graduation ceremony.

Urukundo Foundation & Sewing Center pays tribute: awards and celebrations

In loving memory of Tom Nunnally, our benefactor and the thinker, who envisioned a school for sewing at Urukundo Learning Center.

Each year in Tom’s memory, Forest Hills Rotary in Pittsburgh, PA awards a sewing machine to the most outstanding student the class, to help that person start up his or her own business.

Tom’s wife Carolyn also chose to present each graduate with a kit of basic tools needed to work as a sewer. Tom’s Legacy at Urukundo will live on.

Displaying the award: Theresa, Head of the Sewing School along with teacher Redemptus Nderendebe, the tailoring teacher Desire Uwimana, and Laurien Sebomana, honored guest from Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

This year’s award went to Teddy Uwurukundo and is presented to him by Madam Valerie Mukamutare, the Executive Secretary of the District, and by Redemptus Nderendebe, a teacher at the Sewing Center.

The manager of the sewing project presents certificates.

The certificates and sewing starter kits were such precious gifts.

Special awards given to outstanding Primary and Preschool students.

The parent of the year award was presented to Celestin Ndayiziga. This award was given to the parent who was most active and helpful to the teachers and in the Learning Center.

Special guests were interns from GO ED. The girls lived and volunteered at Urukundo for a month.

Jean Marie, Juliette, Olive, Theresa & Erneste join graduates for photo.

Remembrance photo. Next year we will have risers. Our Primary 6 kids are as tall as the students in the Sewing Center so only the hats of those students are visible. Live and Learn.

Happy Face of a special girl. She has been #1 in her class since Kindergarten. Congratulations Delice Nishimwe.

I hope you have enjoyed the photos of the graduation as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

Thank you.

Mama Arlene

October newsletter

October was a very busy time for Urukundo. Before I tell you about the month, I’d like to share an announcement.

I am planning to come to the USA in late March and stay through April and May.

I hope to visit many of you while I am there.

If you would be interested in hosting me during that time, please get in touch with my daughter, Patricia Brown, pdbrown@spiritworks.org or phone 1 (412) 999-1912. ‬Please also copy me arlene@hopemadereal.org.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

June 2018 Newsletter

What an exciting month!

The Primary 6 students are our first graduating class from Urukundo Learning Center. The students, teachers and Urukundo managers had the very first field trip ever. But not the last. The field trip will be a yearly event.
Large busloads traveled to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

The group visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre and paid respect and honor to those lost in the genocide.

After the visit to the Genocide Memorial, the children visited the Parliament building, which is the seat of governing body in Rwanda.
This was such an important day for Urukundo Primary 6 kids, teachers and managers. The students will graduate in November.

Event worth much ado

We were so honored to host the Anne Frank Project out of SUNY Buffalo State in New York, USA. The city of Buffalo is sister city to the city of Muhanga in Rwanda. The project uses drama to help children learn.
This lovely painting was presented to the Urukundo Foundation as a special gift from the group.

The work the visitors did is so interesting and productive and so appreciated. The Anne Frank Project conducted two full days of teacher training in drama-based education at Urukundo Village. About 30 teachers from the Urukundo Learning Center as well as more than 50 teachers from various schools in Muhanga received professional development on how to use storytelling in their classrooms. On a third day, the teachers used it in their own classrooms. The results were outstanding! Plans are underway to define the partnership among the District of Muhunga, Urukundo Village and the SUNY Buffalo State’s Anne Frank Project to make Urukundo a center for innovative teaching and learning.

Here are some pictures from the training for the adults:

The next photo is special for John Latone, Claude's best friend. Claude and John met when the group was here about three years ago.

The kids had fun with the visitors.
Dinner with the kids
Blowing bubbles and relaxing in the front yard at Mama’s house
Claudine and the bubble wand
Always foote ball(soccer)
The Anne Frank Project group presented “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

The storyteller wore the orange-dotted shirt. All did a great job.
The tale includes the chicken who laid the golden egg.
And don’t forget the monster giant.

The children participated in the presentation. All had a wonderful time.
Now there is a new stone on the path. It shows where the heart is.

Lovely explanation

The wedding of Betty, who is the main caregiver in the boys’ house, and Etienne was lovely. Weddings in Rwanda are interesting.

Everything is rented: the wedding gown, bridesmaids’ clothes, groom’s clothes, groomsmen's suits, decorations, tents for guests. Just everything, but it keeps the cost down, and the wedding can be lovely.

All of the invited guests contribute what little money they have before the wedding to help the bride and groom rent what they need. Depending on the generosity of friends and family, even the very poor can have a simple but pretty wedding.

It makes a lot of sense to me, especially in a country where jobs are scarce and money hard to come by.

It is amazing how friends and families support each other in Rwanda. Would that it were the same in the USA and other countries. The cost of a nice wedding in the USA would support a family in Rwanda for several years. The bride’s gown alone would more than pay for a whole wedding here.

When you accept an invitation to a wedding, you give a gift to help with the cost. Neat idea, and it works.