School opens for final term of the year.
Teachers gather to welcome the children and keep everything under control. The children are so excited to be back in school and to greet friends. They are full of energy.
Big and small they are back!
Feast
A pretend cooking event and a great imagination is all it takes to have a wonderful meal on the bottom of mama’s bed.
Matt our visitor heard me say the girls had only 2 cups and a tiny teapot to have pretend tea parties. He presented the kids with a set of pots, pans and fruits that they could play with. What a wonderful gift. Now I am served strawberries, bananas, grapes and cabbage on a little plate and I pretend to stuff myself with the wonderful fruit. It is a great diet for losing weight.
Amin
Amin is in Culinary school.
We appreciated his help in the kitchen during the Holiday. He also returned to school on the 11th of August. The kitchen staff hated to see him go. At the end of this term he will serve an apprenticeship at a local hotel. Where is yet to be decided. He then will have the opportunity to work at Urukundo with the kitchen staff to give him experience.
Three Choirs and a Trio
All three singing groups are Urukundo Kids. This event only happens during school breaks. It's a concert of the best kind. Soso is dressed for Alaska I think!
Precious Gems - 5 & under
Urukundo Kids 6 & up
Urukundo Teens Choir made up of secondary kids home for the holiday.
Trio: Tresor, Divine, Anitha. With accompanist Lennart Westmark from Germany
The music was spectacular.
Newsletter for July
Saturday Morning at Urukundo Home is special. There is no school so the children have an extra hour of sleep and then gather outside for breakfast.
I am sending you an invitation to join the children for a breakfast of porridge and chapati on the porch at the Girl’s House.
Jacob likes Chapati too.
Cups hold porridge.
You met Josh and Audrey from Canada in the June Newsletter. Their visit extended into July.
Meet the Kids
Watch them grow
Last month: Rebecca, Claude III, Johnny, Soso, Yves and Kaboss.
This month:
Diana - two and a half years.
Kavine Molly, two and a half years old and loves Connect 4. She's determined to fix it. I love the tongue and concentration.
Last Day of School for this Term
Luki, David, Kenny & Claude.
Gathering in Mama’s room.
Prince
Moved to the porch. Better place for pictures. They are beautiful.
Kavine Molly joined the group. She does not go to school yet but loves to be included.
Haircut!
Jacob before his haircut.
And after his haircut!
Greetings from Urukundo Village - June 2014
May used to be the beginning of a dry period in Rwanda. Now it starts in June. Could this be “global warming"?
This has been a tough month for me starting with what I thought was a cold. It turned out to be an allergy complicated by all the symptoms related to the not so common cold. Never having had an allergy I had no idea you could get so sick.
I spent most of June in my room managing Urukundo from my desk and bed. I am a hands-on person so this was not easy but the Urukundo staff were great. Things ran smoothly much to my surprise and pleasure.
Photo Shoot
Rebecca
Claude
Johnny
Soso
Yves
Kaboss
Meet Tresor and Jacob - Great Pals
TRESOR our oldest YOUNG MAN & JACOB our 1 year old superman.
It is great to have a brother to point the way!
Sports at Urukundo
KARATE:
There are 20 kids in the Saturday morning Karate class. 9 are our kids, 11 are from the community and the group comprises both boys & girls. It is awesome to watch these kids and the master at work. It is work with dedication.
Our 5 first and 4 second graders love karate!
When the team is ready they will compete with other teams of their age.
Our master teaches as a volunteer.
We could not afford ready-made uniforms from stores in Kigali town so our Sewing Center took a pattern, bought material and made uniforms. They are great. Good work, sewing students! These uniforms are also available to the neighborhood parents. They can buy them for their kids at an affordable price.
I think the kids look great - comments from our readers are appreciated!
One of the neighborhood kids has a yellow belt. I'm not sure what that means in terms of advancement for children even though my son Ted is a black belt!
Volunteer Master & kids: Pete in a brown belt. He is very good with the kids.
Emotions of a Grateful Mama
What brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart? It is the simple things that make such a difference for our children. These gifts make my kids happy so I am happy.
Baby Jenny gets a doll.
She is a happy little girl!
Kavine likes a tea set for tea party play!
Little boys like Tonka trucks.
Little cars for little kids.
Fire truck made with Legos - what fun.
Girls like trucks and cars too.
Books and reading - children enjoying all the books that have been given to them.
