Please keep in prayer the much needed funding to build our Third Grade classrooms.
$30,000 will completely furnish a single room including desks, chairs, blackboards etc.
Dental Initiative Update
Breaking news
Urukundo Dental Initiative has applied to the Rwanda Health Department for recognition as a Community Service Organization.
DID YOU KNOW? The tooth is the only part of the human body that can’t repair itself.
With the new chair and 2 new dentists we are really HIGH TECH. Urukundo Initiative wants to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful dentists and others who helped us with materials, machines and dollars for needed supplies to make such a worthwhile program posssible.
Building Project
Urukundo is looking for funding to finish constructing the Primary school.
Is there an organization or family that would be willing to accept a grant request from us or consider giving us a low or no interest loan?
If so, we would appreciate hearing from you.
You can help make the Hope for a school Real.
Help Wanted
Our need to build more class rooms for the school is on going. Please consider getting involved. The Step by Step fundraiser mentioned in last month's Newsletter is about to kick off. Get in touch with Carol Falke, or Carol Baney if you can help. It will be a way for you to be more aware of your health and at the same time to help Urukundo improve the lives of children in Rwanda, Africa through EDUCATION.
I am looking forward to adding the pictures of the teams participating to the monthly newsletters. Get your team together and send me and the Carols a picture! Will you be the largest and most active team? Make a difference.
Thank you for your loving, caring and sharing.
Dental Initiative & Nursery Bath and Utility Room
This may seem like a strange combination.
Because of poor workmanship and cutting corners during construction of the foundation under the nursery bathroom, the floor and walls started to give way. It was deemed dangerous for our little ones so it was necessary to dismantle the present structure. This was done leaving only the roof intact.
June 5th 2014: removing the bath and utility structure. The floor was sinking and walls unstable.
How does this affect the Dental Initiative? In such a short time the Tiki Hut home of the Dental Project has become too small.
When thinking about the present and looking to the future, a saying from my past comes to mind 'KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE'.
We needed a safe utility and bath for the nursery and rooms for the dental initiative that would also include an indoor utility room. Combining both projects made sense.
Why not make both improvements at the same time? It would initially cost more than planned for but in the long run will save expense.
A firm foundation was laid for the reconstruction and the addition, removing the cracking, breaking walls and adding strength to the foundation.
Foundation of large stones, small stones, sand and good quality cement was laid.
We enclosed the porch for a utility and bath, added 2 more rooms to the structure and connected the new addition to the original Girls' House taking care of both problems.
Men and women at work.
Walls going up June 23rd 2014. Next month's newsletter will picture the finished project and another HOPE MADE REAL.
Goals for Development
This goal is a HOPE MADE REAL that must take place.
Building four more grade levels at the school is a challenge. Are you ready to meet this challenge? Kids are depending on us. It cannot be done without help and dedication from the Urukundo family and friends.
In September a world-wide walk marathon will take place and every step you take is a step toward a better future for the children in our community. Become an active walker for EDUCATION, the hope for the future!
Our goal & need is to raise a minimum of $286,000.
We have the land. It is cleared, leveled, secured with a foundation started. All this is paid for.
Now it is time to move literally upward literally. A two-storey building, housing and 8 classrooms is our hope.
Start planning now. Be a team leader! Involve your friends and family.
Please contact our organizers for more information. Two Carols are coordinating this event.
Carol Falke falkes@verizon.net
Carol Baney carolbaney@hotmail.com
Catch the Vision - Make It Happen - Hope Made Real
The Vision
The Plan
The Beginning.
More information is available here:
Future Education Fund - Educating our Children
AFTER HIGH SCHOOL
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
We at Urukundo through Hope Made Real are trying to set up a fund to help our children who have finished Secondary School and qualify to go on to higher education.
We are seeking Christian families willing to commit to a multi-year annual pledge to support our students’ future education. A fund raiser is also an option. Your church, a Sunday school class, friends and families could participate. With 23 kids in Secondary school we need help.
The first to graduate in 2013 was Tresor who wants to study engineering. His grades have qualified him to apply for the MASTERCARD SCHOLARSHIP AWARD. At present he is going to Bridge 2 Rwanda (www.bridge2rwanda.org) to study for his Toefl and SAT tests. The Teofl program costs $275 USD and the SAT help program is $375. I am hoping with the extra teaching he will be given one of the awards. If so he would then come to the US for study. I will need $3000-$12,000 in a fund for him.
Our future ~ one graduated in 2013, five in 2014, three in 2015, two in 2016, three in 2017, five in 2018 and four in 2019. After that our younger children will be coming along.
If you are interested in holding an event contact Carol Falke falkes@verizon.net / Phone: 814-321-1076. She lives in State College, PA, is a board member for HMR and is Director for Fundraising. Carol is willing to come to your church to share updates about the Urukundo Home and Learning Center focusing on the education program.
I know you love THE KIDS AT URUKUNDO These vulnerable kids have a future because of your care. Please ask yourself WHAT CAN I DO? First, pray for and hold these children in your heart. Then help us plan for their futures.
Building Primary Three
I sent out an appeal for stones and sand to prepare a foundation for Primary 3, the next step in completing a primary school for Urukundo Learning Center. We need many stones for this two-story building. It is much different for a two-story building, saving land space, than for a one-story building. This finished building will house P3, P4, P5, P6, and two classrooms each. Once the foundation is laid we can build one section at a time.
Building P3 is now our priority. In order to meet Government regulations we will build upstairs and downstairs classrooms a section at a time, making the downstairs classrooms handicap accessible.
Some funds have come and we thank you who took this need seriously. We have 3 loads of stones and need 20 more. A $50 gift can pay for a load of stones. A $25 gift can pay for a load of sand needed as fill for the stones and to mix with the cement to make the foundation solid.
The foundation is large, covering an extensive piece of land. When completed, with the classrooms we have already built, it will house our entire Primary school including offices for the school and administration.
Progress Continues
Saturday February 15 was our start date;
We are stepping out in Faith to accomplish a “Hope Made Real” we have started.
Your help will let us continue. Thank you for making Dental training and Dental care possible at Urukundo Learning Center.
Kenilla having treatment
This month marks the second step toward our goal for a Technical University at the Learning Center. The first step was the Sewing Center where students learn about machines, sewing, tailoring etc.
Treadle sewing machine
Sewing School Building
The second step is
Rwanda Dental Initiative 2014
It is our goal to have several practical teaching programs when university is not an option. The Sewing Center and the Dental Initiative projects are just the beginning of a future for better health and better technical education for Muhanga District and we hope for all of Rwanda.
We have seen so many children at our school with mouth problems. If there had been education for the parents at an early age most of the problems could have been avoided. Prevention is so important. There are over 250 children in our school and that is only preschool and Grade 1 and 2. These are community children.
Our program for the Dental Initiative will be to educate the parents, which means a parent must come with their child and be present for the examination and meet the dentist. They will learn how to help their children and in turn help themselves. We can’t just teach the children, we must also educate the parents.
We will start with the parents of the very young in hopes that instead of taking a small child while teething to a cultural doctor, where the practice is to destroy the teeth below the gum, they will come to Urukundo Dental Program to get help.
Two young men trained in dentistry are donating their time to Urukundo in hopes of training others in the field as assistants to the dentist AND they will be working with the Home, school and community to prevent dental problems in the future. This will be a certificate program. Our graduates will be qualified to accept employment as trained personnel for dental programs throughout Rwanda.
Needs for the DENTAL INITIATIVE
Pressure Cooker for sterilization
- Composite curing lights
- Prophy cups & paste
- Mirrors & Mirror handles
- Explorers
- Any tools for cleaning teeth
- Cotton Rolls
- Toothbrushes
- Toothpaste
- Floss
- Gifts of cash to purchase a hot plate and a pressure cooker for sterilizing tools
- Stainless steel containers for holding sterilized tools
***We are starting from scratch.
Our building
The Spot Lamp & our Dental Chair
Saturday February 15 was our start date; we are stepping out in Faith to accomplish a “Hope Made Real” we have started.
Your help will let us continue. Thank you for making Dental Training and Dental Care possible at Urukundo Learning Center.
Kenilla having treatment.
John Paul having his teeth cleaned.
Screening began this week on the children at our school. Notices were sent home to parents if a problem was detected. Dental work will start on the first 20 patients on Saturday March 1,2014. Our main problem is the lack of tools for extractions and our urgent need for a sterilizer. Hoping for that.