Greetings from Mama Arlene in Rwanda for November 2010

Hello from Urukundo Village and Urukundo Home for Children.

Gee that sounds nice. Urukundo is growing and as we are moving toward 2011 it is awesome what God is doing here. Starting out with a rented house and one child in Gitarama Town in 2006, the changes that have taken place can only be from the Lord. The Lord has given us a home for boys, a home for girls, a nursery, Hope House, a multi purpose house, and a small piece of land dedicated to chickens, four sheep and a cow and her baby.  We call it a farm. Small but productive - we are so blessed. 

The wet season is upon us and I am cold at 70 degrees. Normal for me but when I remember winters in PA, I know I have no reason to complain. 

Wonderful things are happening at Urukundo Home for Children. Three new babies, Kenny, Kenila,and Prince. Claude is home and Ezekiel may be back soon. We now have 42 children in our family - 19 boys and 23 girls. Our maximum capacity is 50.  

Urukundo Comes of Age

It is a turning point for Urukundo Foundation.

 We now have Legal status and are an employer. Until the present time our workers have all been volunteers given a stipend plus food, lodging and health insurance. Now we are in a position where we can offer a job to our Rwandese volunteers.  As an employer we can now cover our staff with the Social Security offered by the Rwandan Government. Praise God. We have been working a long time to reach this point.

It will also add complications to our bookkeeping. 

My present secretary Emmanuel (a 20 year old young man) will start University in January.  Thanks to a sponsor in America, Emmanuel will study to become a Lawyer.



Keep this young man in prayer.

We are looking for his replacement. That person will have a job description, be an employee and will need accounting and computer skills. A new phase in the system  of hiring at Urukundo.

Rocking Chairs a Big Hit

With the space available in the new nursery, we have room for rocking chairs and I am very happy about that. 

We now have two rocking chairs where this Gram can enjoy holding and comforting babies. We contacted a local carpenter and asked for help. He was not sure he could do what we asked.  The carpenter made the chairs from a picture. Because this was a first try for the carpenter he only charged us 20,000 rwf each ($40 USD).

The chairs need some sanding and have now had safety stops added to the front of the rockers - the trick is to not rock hard and overbalance the chair!

The picture was on this web site - check it out!  This could be a great way to raise funds for us older women. What fun sitting & rocking.

 



Luki going solo.

Claude in the chair - he is adventurous and let us know the danger of rocking too hard.  Leave it to Claude.

Stateside News from Mama Arlene August 2010

Missing the children at Urukundo is the down side of our trip to the US. It is disturbing to think about how much the kids, especially the babies, will have grown while I am away. We are blessed because we do have Skype and so get to see them occasionally. The time difference sometimes makes that difficult.
We have traveled many miles and have many yet to go. We are being treated most royally, greeting old friends and making new friends along the way. The end of August finds us in California. We are so blessed.

It is my pleasure to report to all who have been praying for the addition of a nursery that a gift was received, sent to Urukundo and the Nursery is under construction. Glory be to God.

The next project will be the day care and preschool. Prayers please, as we continue our journey.

Thought you might like to see my wonderful family in America.

Mama and Children

Lilliane's Continuing Adventures

Lilliane is having a magical time in the US.
On the left : August 1st was her 15th birthday.




On the right : reunion with Talia; driving a four-wheeler in PA.



Washington Monument and the Kennedy Center : Lilliane and friends in Washington DC,


Grand Canyon, Arizona

Lilliane with Native American cowboys

Craft-time with Ruthie

Ruthie, originally from Nigeria but now lives in England, came back for her third visit. The children love her story telling, singing and crafts. Ruthie had the children make greeting cards to Mama Arlene for her return.