News from Urukundo for November 2012

Greetings from Urukundo, the home that love built.  What an exciting month. Some good days, and some not so good. Our kids all came home from boarding school. It was great to have all 44 of them home at one time. Worship was outstanding. They were here a short time and went on holiday with extended family. The time at Urukundo passed too quickly, but they will be home for Christmas. Even the primary kids are on holiday. With all who are away we still have 21 kids in the houses. It is never lonely here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Rwanda Commission for Children has taken some very positive steps to protect vulnerable children and is asking orphanages (institutions) and homes for children to assist in connecting children to their extended families.

The government is endeavoring to give responsibility to the Rwandan people for the children connected in any way to their families. In compliance with the new regulations set forth by the government to protect the rights of the children, Urukundo Foundation has enlisted the families to take part in the lives of the children. This includes Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Mothers or Dads with little or no income. I do not know how this will work but we know how important family ties are. Preserving the Rwandan family is one of our criteria at our home for children.

Urukundo is and will remain home to the children. They have been family for 6 years and have grown up here. These are kids from 7 to 19 years of age. The children will continue to have a choice as to where they will spend holidays, which they have always had. Not much will change, but in writing we conform to government regulations and keep our kids secure. Urukundo will, with the help of our sponsors, continue to cover tuition, school supplies, medical insurance, savings at Fina Bank for the kids, and food and lodging here at home. Their families will take care of them while they are with them. This also has not changed. Unless there are further changes by the government there will be no effect on the primary and Nursery kids or the older adolescents who have no extended families.   God in Charge.

Walkway Stones

This stone in memory of Pastor Marge Glascow is very special. She was a dear friend and served in mission in Africa after the Genocide. I first met Pastor Marge when she returned from a mission trip to the refugee camps caring for Rwandan citizens in 1995. She was very influential in my desire to do something for the
children, survivors of the genocide. At that time Marge was pastor of Oval United Methodist Church, Oval, Pennsylvania. Oval UMC still supports this ministry. I know Marge supported that during her life. Marge retired because of ill health but continued supporting the Urukundo Home for Children through Hope Made Real ministry. I was touched when, through her family, she requested in lieu of flowers that donations be sent in her memory to Urukundo Home for Children, Hope Made Real.

I will miss my friend as will many others. She rests in the Lord.

And our second stone this month is in memory of Susan Cacko. This stone was placed by friends and family and is a tribute to education.

Greetings

From Urukundo Village and Learning Center, Mama Arlene and all the Urukundo kids!  A newsletter, hopefully with pictures. This is testing my skills and thanks for taking the time to read.

October has been an eventful month, to say the least. Most recently, our servers in the US were temporarily disabled by Hurricane Sandy, while in Rwanda my Mac computer crashed, which was the low point of the month.  The high point? The completion of a number of major projects. Please bear with me as I write this newsletter without my trusty Mac - it may seem a bit strange and indeed it is. The reason is simple.  I am attempting to write on a Dell, and teaching an old dog (woman) new tricks (procedures) applies here. My computer is in need of a Mac doctor (so I have told my children) and has gone to Kigali, to Etienne our computer technician. Etienne is the young man we supported at KIST University and he is now a graduate with a degree in Computer Science. He will do his best to save my documents so that when the time comes and a new Mac appears the documents can be transferred to it.  Yes, I do believe in miracles.

Making Excuses

All directions on this Dell are in French, a language that I know very little about. Yes, I do know there is a way to change the directions to English but I just don't know how to do it.  Even the spellcheck is in French so every word I write has a red squiggle line under it because I write in English. I know Sarah our media person will check the spelling closely before she publishes. More work for Sarah!

I am finding there is so much I need to learn. Another example: I use two cameras to take pictures. On one there is no date printed on the picture, but on the other date stamps all photos 2011, so pictures taken with that camera appear to be at least a year old. This was pointed out to me by a friend. Last month's pictures of the Biogas project were dated 2011, yet this is a new project for 2012 and no pictures could have been taken in 2011! The date has been changed on the camera now, thanks to Jean Marie's expertise. I am blessed to have young people here who seem to have been born with the know-how to work with the technology changes. Digital cameras are wonderful but confusing.

Ok, now for pictures. October pictures are on the now defunct Mac.

Greetings from Mama Arlene and the Urukundo Family for September 2012

Hello from Urukundo.

September has come and gone. I do miss the changing of the fall season in Pennsylvania. The foliage is so beautiful especially in Williamsport, Jersey Shore and the Lock Haven areas. Many times I drove up the Snow Shoe Mountains to visit my mother in Clearfield County and the colors near took my breath away.  The air is invigorating. No longer summer but not yet the cold of winter. A great time but short-lived. Reminiscing is a pleasure when the climate here stays constant summer. What differentiates the seasons here is rain or no rain. We are in the rainy time now and so are planting every inch of ground. With the freezer our friends from Canada bought for us, we hope to be able to freeze enough vegetables to carry us through the months of no gardens. This will cut down on the cost of fresh food. 

IT'S THE TIME

For all of you who support this project I am eternally grateful.

Sending kids to school who otherwise would have little chance of education is a worthwhile project.

Your gift of $15 supplies one child with a uniform, shoes, exercise books, pens, a sweater and a back pack. Where could you find a better bargain? It will do your heart good knowing you are making a difference in the life of a child and these children are so grateful. Every child should be able to read and write and reach their potential.

I hope many of you will consider these children when you make out your Christmas list.

Urukundo Kids News

After an unusually long holiday our secondary (High School) kids returned to their respective schools. Some of the primary children came to see them off on the minibus. We now have kids in 5 different secondary schools. It was much easier when they all went to King David Academy. In the Rwandan school system, after the first 3 years in secondary school the children choose a goal for the future and move to a school that provides the education needed to be successful in their chosen field. It really is a good system giving the kids a head start for the future.

They will come home in early November and the 2013 school year begins  about January 10.

We finally have a playground thanks to RAISED HANDS FOR AFRICA  (check out their website). This mission-minded group hail from North Carolina.

Of course the big kids like the little swings. The twist and turn and unwind. That just makes me dizzy.

Big kids' swings.

The playground is such a joy to the kids.

Parallel bars, basketball court, swings for big kids in background. The sandbox is such a hit. It's located just above the nursery.

Mission Outreach - Education for Women

We had no idea when we decided to offer English classes for women who had small children in our preschool and wanted to learn English along with their children that the response would be so great.

The class was for mothers but grew to include all community women who wanted to learn English as a second language and to read and write.

120 women responded.

Monday through Friday at 2 pm you will find more than 90 women in class at Hope House, our multi-purpose building.

The teacher Maggie is doing a great job and for the first time these women who do not live close together but are in the same community are getting to know each other. They talk, share concerns and work together to solve them.

Maggie, the ESL teacher.

Stones for the Path to Learning

September's new additions.

Greetings from Mama Arlene and the Urukundo Family for August 2012

August followed July as is expected and was as busy but in a different way. Certainly the highlight of the month was Akiliah's graduation celebration where it was my honor to meet, shake hands and speak for a few minutes with Madame Janette Kagame, the wife of our President.