Maggie who was coordinator for our school is now a businesswoman. She has opened a shop where she hopes to start a career that will provide a wage for herself and her child.
Maggie goes from being an employee to working at Urukundo Village as a volunteer. It is good to know we are not losing Maggie because she is loved by the children and will continue to work with them.
Hello from Urukundo
August has been very busy. Our kids out of school, visitors from abroad, construction for the nursery and dental initiative. There was just a lot going on.
Arlene's Advice
I would give this advice. Do not eat papaya like cantaloupe, and do not eat peanuts before your stomach is recovered from excess papaya. If this is not clear, drop me an email and I will expound on the subject.
Lesson Learned.
OUR SECONDARY KIDS
Having the big brothers and sisters was very exciting for the little kids and for me. It is really a fun school vacation time. Even though they study during the time it is more relaxed. They take part in the evening devotions and play with the little ones at Hope House.
Our Photo Shoot for August. Secondary Students, some not all. How they have grown! All are now taller than me and better looking. 
Abis second year secondary.
Lucie our candidate for the ministry. She graduates from Secondary (High School) this year. Her goal is to be a pastor.
Divine
Amin
Claude
Esperance
Immanuel
Bosco
Cecelia
Jason
He does not expect to graduate from Secondary School until 2032. Please be there for him.
The first Dish dryer, given to us by God. Not electric but very effective.
Wash, rinse and place on the platform for the sun to do the rest.
The Sun
Clothes dryer. Lines and fences work just fine but bushes also are a drying option.
Not better than a washing machine but then there's no breakdown when the electricity is turned off. This is an all day job every day but Sunday.
We also have a medium sized electric Dryer for drying baby clothes and school uniforms during the rainy season. The dryer was a gift from a friend from United Christian Parish in Reston, Virginia, USA.
The sliding board is very popular. Even before it was ready the kids were trying it out. It is now a beautiful blue color. The gift to build the sliding board came from RAISED HANDS FOR AFRICA, a devoted group from North Carolina. Check their web site.
As promised, construction is completed except for re-attaching the gutters.
I want to thank our donors for their help in developing this project.
What started as a project to replace the Nursery bathroom has been enlarged to include two teaching rooms and an office for dentistry.
Reception area.
New Dental Office.
Class rooms with new PCs and a printer. A gift from European Union Organization.
New bathroom for the nursery.
Her name is Abigal. Abigal comes to work with us from Kenya. She is a teacher in our Preschool and she lives in Urukundo Village.
Gathering for practice.
Abigal works with the children teaching new songs and special activities.
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.
How many of you have a banana tree with bananas on it in your front yard? Well I do. These are the little bananas that taste as sweet as a candy bar. The purple pod at the bottom of the hand is the seed but you do not plant the pod. New trees come up from the root and grow as the bananas ripen. FYI: A banana tree only produces fruit one time and then the tree dies and the shoot takes its place. This process takes two years. Maybe that is more information than you need to know, but I find it interesting and worth telling you about!
April is a very happy month for Urukundo and for me. My kids are home from boarding school and Urukundo village is alive with activity of a different sort. Teenagers do make a distinctive noise!
THE CHILDRENS FARM
Meet Charlie goat and his companion Matilda.
Matilda
Charlie and Matilda are milk producing goats. Well, maybe Charlie doesn’t produce milk but he and Matilda together produce babies and if they are girls they will produce milk. We are moving away from goats for meat only toward goats for milk and milk products. This is new and rather interseting. I did not know there was a difference. I learn something new every day.
Enjoy our newsletter this month, and the updates on our all our education initiatives. It is my hope that many will come on board and help build our school, keep the dental program going and encourage education for needy children in Rwanda. Gifts can be any size. There is no such thing as a small gift. Funds are needed and much appreciated.
You can donate online, or by check to the address below:
HMR
Po Box 3222
Williamsport Pa. 17701
USA
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Mama Arlene
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.
We are so grateful to all the dentists out there who contributed to make this much needed service available at Urukundo Village.
Our first day we scanned 85 children from Urukundo Primary School. 55 needed dental attention and 29 of the 55 needed urgent care.
Notices were sent home to the parents of all children seen. Follow up calls were made.
Saturday March 1st 29 were seen with their parents.
Saturday March 15th 33 were seen with parents.
Parents and children sitting on benches on the porch of the Girls' House waiting their turn.
Little benches outside the Tiki Hut, our dental workstation.
How do you like the grass roof? We really need to get a new roof, but I think this one adds character. What do you all think?
Dentist, Dad and patient.
Dentist, Mom and another patient.
Most times the parents are more anxious than the kids.
Saturday March 22,2014
After covering the Home and school we are opening care and treatment to the children and adults in the community.
Our continuing need is funding for Novocain, Amoxicillin to fight infection after extractions, Ibuprofen for pain and sterile gloves. These can be purchased in Kigali Town as needed.
On Feb 28 our Dentist spent an afternoon explaining and demonstrating dental hygiene to the Primary classes. Our Dental Initiative is an all-inclusive program.
Toothbrushes, toothpaste and smiling kids!
Putting it together.
When grass is high I fear snakes, and high grass is hard to play soccer on. Thanks to a good friend we now have a cutter. You may think of it as a weed whacker but believe me it does more than just cut weeds. We now are able to walk everywhere in short grass. Praise God.
