Supplies for the community

Knowing the plight of many of our neighbors, the Urukundo Worship Center provided supplies for neighborhood families to have food essentials.

Rice, flour, beans and cooking oil were distributed by Urukundo Worship and its fellowship.
The congregation and its leaders hope that what little what we can do will make a difference in the lives of so many.

Hand soap also was included as washing hands is an important part of protecting against the coronavirus.

Supplies were placed in paper bags (called envelopes in Rwanda).

Paper bags were then put into cloth bags, making the supplies easy to carry.

Those who received the help were grateful and thanked God. Taking photos can be a problem, so we share just a few.

The large bags are a gift from ChicoBag. We thank them for their faithfulness in donating large and smaller bags to the Mama and Baby Project and the Urukundo Foundation.

More classrooms

In an earlier newsletter, I shared the need for bricks to build two classrooms. The response was awesome. Thank you to all who helped to purchase bricks. Funds came in to buy not only the needed bricks but also to complete building the two classrooms.

Work began at once. Although the classrooms were not expected to be finished soon, the donations for building the classrooms were more than enough for bricks, and we went ahead and finished the two classrooms. Never dreaming the coronavirus would happen and funding would be a bit scarce.The mandated shutdown took place March 21, but the sector allowed Urukundo to finish building using only two workers from the community on the site at a time. Keeping social distancing.

It took until the end of April to finish the project.

Two new classrooms finished and ready for the start of school. The computer lab now will have a home base. The second room is to reduce the number of children per classroom. We try to keep the number in a classroom to no more than 30 children.

Thank you all for the gifts that made this possible.

Heads up

Mama’s book went to the publisher on Feb. 26.

Soon it will be available on Amazon as well as in bookstores.

Some of the photos from the book

Hey, I, Mama Arlene, was a little girl long ago with a mom and dad and later children of my own.

Hope Made Real is the final chapter of my life, and “Hope Made Real” is the name of the book. My family now includes children from my adopted country, Rwanda.

Read all about it. Proceeds from the book go to the Urukundo Foundation and Learning Center.

After publication, I will travel to the USA for book readings and signing events. To host an event with me, contact: Patricia Brown: pdbrown@spiritworks.org.

New Year’s thoughts

A gentle reminder as you begin the New Year:

Having a goal and striving to reach it is a must.
Every child deserves the opportunity to set such a goal.
Providing education is a step in the right direction.
Help give hope where hope is essential.

Mama

Improvements on the Urukundo campus

We had many improvements in the last year.

Communications
A big improvement was Wi-Fi was installed to cover the school, dental clinic and all of Urukundo Village. The village includes the business offices, farm office, pastor’s office, guest houses and Mama’s house

Protection
Lightning arrestors were installed on the school grounds, including the play area and the entire campus.

The football (soccer) field was filled and leveled, making it a safer play area for the school children.

Transportation
A second big school bus was purchased in January 2019. With earned income from the buses, we now have enough to purchase a third big bus. We have sold the minibus and are applying that money to the purchase of the third big bus. The minibus is too small for the number of children needing transportation at this time. It was a great starter bus, but it has outlived its purpose. Not enough seats.

Good looking bus. In service on January 29, 2020.

It is good to know the profit from the vehicles improves our ability to supply safe transportation for more children.

Sewing Center
Twenty-four sewing machines were purchased and added to the Urukundo Sewing Center.

A classroom large enough for the Sewing Center was built and desk-chair combinations were purchased for student use.

Library
A new extension was added to the school library.
The library now has space, tables, chairs and electrical outlets for computer classes and can accommodate older children and adults.

Yes, it was a very good year.

Urukundo’s purpose

Urukundo decided that, because of a lack of necessary funding, construction on the school would stop at least for now. It seemed like a good idea. It was for Urukundo but not for a community in need.

There is more than one way to be a good neighbor and part of the community. Need is always present, and charity is not wanted. People want to work and earn some money, especially at Christmastime.

What could Urukundo do to help? Our field needed to be cleared and leveled. That would benefit our Learning Center and the community.

Thanks to faithful donors, we were able to have a work day, and 17 families with no income earned a little money. Their children’s Christmas was brighter. Food is essential.

Now Urukundo has land cleared for the next project in our future. That project is construction of four more classrooms needed for the primary school.

We are blessed, and it is so important we pass the blessing along. Hope you all had a great Christmas.

Library expanded

Expansion at the library is complete. We thank our donors, especially the Keating family for making this possible. The building expansion was from the Keatings. The table and chairs were from the Keatings and the African International Club (AIC). Books and activities for the kids were from various donors. Thanks much to everyone.

The photos show the improvements.

New tables and chairs in adult study area

Beautiful ceiling. Complete with lighting from ceiling and fresh air.

There is room for 30 or more students. This is a great study area for older P6 kids preparing for National Exams.

Reading room

Build it. Creative activity room.

Builders in creative activity room

On the walls, we used cultural art.

Dung art

Dung art is native to the area. It is made of cow dung and ash and painted with natural pigments. This tradition dates to the 18th century.

Baskets and pictures of dancers are traditional art.

Imagine such animals in your backyard! Awesome.

Animals and birds of Rwanda. These can be seen in Akagera National Park in their own environment.

Our library is much improved.

Sewing Center completed

The completed addition to the Sewing Center classroom makes a great building.

Front view of Sewing Center, which is a school of technology for sewing. When funds become available, the stones in front will be covered by cement. All in good time. These stones also help control mudslides on our property, especially where new construction has taken place and the ground is soft.

Rear view. Notice the storm clouds moving in.

More cement work to be done. Cement is US$10 a bag.

Inside classroom

Funds were raised for 45 desk-chair combinations. We thank all who picked up the challenge, and now every student will be comfortable attending class in January.

The room already is a blessing. We will find many uses for this room. At present, it is being used to prepare for graduation. Gowns are kept in storage each year to be used the next year. This is the first year we were able to wash, iron and hang the gowns, thanks to having the new classroom available. It makes graduation easier on the staff. Working ahead is good.

All graduates came to the room to be measured and fitted for a gown. Their name was attached to the gown that fit, and the gowns are arranged in alphabetical order by first name. This will make it easier to distribute the gowns the day before the ceremony.

Later, the room will be used to measure and fit new students enrolling in the 2020 year. It is so wonderful to have space to work that does not disrupt classes.

Sewing Desks

Ever wonder what you can do to help?

Here’s a thought:

A great way is to support the Urukundo Sewing Center. A big help with a small gift.

We have a Sewing Center classroom nearly ready to start the new school year in 2020. We have no desks or chairs.

Yes, we need chairs for our students to sit on. These students are young adults.

The chair we wish to purchase is one with a side desk, thus saving on buying both a desk and chair. Economically, this is the best buy at US$30 each. We find if we were to buy a desk and chair separately, the cost would be US$60 for the two pieces. We try to save where we can. The metal frame will hold up better, and wood parts can be replaced, keeping the cost down. The chair is made here by our local vendor, so we help not only our economy but the economy in our district.

Donations can be sent to

Hope Made Real

Box 3222

Williamsport, Pa.

17701

or

Use the “donate now” button on the website, www.hopemadereal.org.

Thank you all for the generous donations.

Mama

Dental news

The new handheld, portable X-ray machine has arrived. It was purchased with money raised on my USA trip. Now the puzzle is reading the directions and having a workable X-ray machine.

Oliver, our dental technician, opening the satchel holding the X-ray machine. What a sight to behold!

Can it be? Yes, it really is.

A very happy moment. This is another hope made real.

Four heads are better than one. So they say.

Test run. Aprons in place.

May 2019 Newsletter

Successful fundraiser

Here it is the end of May. What an exciting month it has been!

Now on my mind is going home to Urukundo.

Of course, the last week in April has to be in the May newsletter. That last week in April saw the “Bridging Pittsburgh to Rwanda” fund-raising event.

Here are members of the bridge team plus two Urukundo siblings, Tresor and Solange, and myself. Awesome group. The three of us told the crowd about Urukundo.

The celebration included a get-acquainted event.

Jewelry and crafts from Urukundo Village were for sale.

The event was well organized and went very well. Everyone had a good time, and funds were raised for the Urukundo Foundation/Hope Made Real.

Funds were raised, but it wasn’t enough to finish building much needed classrooms for the elementary school. However, it was more than enough to pay for a much needed, handheld portable X-ray machine for the Dental Clinic.

MaxRay handheld portable X-ray

Included with the machine are the charger, battery, strap/holster, premium sensor and software.

This is very good news.

Urukundo Dental Clinic wishes to thank Vector R&D Inc., Dr. Richard Reckmeyer and the many others who made this acquisition possible.

Developments at Urukundo

Donations received on this trip allowed for the now-in-progress expansion of the library. Pierce and Katie Keating presented the gift for the library expansion. Thanks to the Keating family, Diane Mastrull and other Philadelphia area friends for helping to raise money for Urukundo. If you have not read the article written by Diane in the Philadelphia inquirer published May 1, please check it out on the web.

Large annex added.