Urukundo Village

Retaining wall for expanding auditorium

The necessary clearing and leveling for the hoped-for auditorium are complete. Hope House will be used as a base for the auditorium.

A retaining wall was next in the process.The most important reason for the wall is it stops the heavy rains from washing away the ground on the soft bank. Otherwise, that’s what happens when you level land for a building or play area and do not sustain it.

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Before the wall was constructed, I sat in worship on a Sunday morning and saw three of our cows come to the top of this loose bank looking at the grass below. The mama cows wanted the grass. It looked so good. With little thought other than hunger, they decided to jump. All three jumped, pulling the loose, freshly dug bank down with their bodies. I feared for the cows and for the work that had been undone. That part of the bank would have to be repaired. We were lucky the ground was still soft and could give. As I watched, I knew the cows could break a leg when the ground became solid. We could not risk such a thing as cows are important in Rwanda and their products are important to Urukundo. Dead cows do not give milk.

Thanks to a gift of funds, the wall is protecting the land from mudslides and problems due to heavy rains. This also created another problem. Cows and kids could still jump or fall over the wall as it is cut into the mountain and is terraced at ground level.

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Solution: You got it. Sturdy mesh wire reaching from the ground to the top of the frame protects the kids and cows. It also keeps the soccer balls from rolling down over the wall. Much safer for children at play.

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Love knowing our Urukundo Learning Center kids are safe at play.

Love knowing our Urukundo Learning Center kids are safe at play.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Community Christmas at Urukundo Village

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What a day at Urukundo Village on Dec. 23! Thanks to a generous donor gift from One Hill at a Time Inc. and its director Helen Kweskin, our annual Christmas Community Day for kids was a day to celebrate. Thank you for your love and generosity.

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Wrappers and helpers: Soso, Lucky, Chantel, Olive and Libby. Awesome job, team. So many gifts for the community kids!

Wrappers and helpers: Soso, Lucky, Chantel, Olive and Libby. Awesome job, team. So many gifts for the community kids!

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Hope House was full to capacity. The new large classroom is such a blessing. We now have the capacity to handle the multitude of children.

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Hope House and the new classroom are close to each other, making it easy to direct children to the new building out of the wet weather. Treats were served in both buildings.

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Overflow then moved from new classroom to Hope House after first group received treats, gifts and departed.

Over 700 children showed up to enjoy a treat of a juice drink, sumbosa and each a wrapped gift. It was awesome.

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There were still more gifts. These were gifts from the Urukundo Foundation to all staff children under 12 years old. A small monetary gift is given to the staff member. Soso, John and Claude helped out with transporting gifts to Mama’s living room.

University graduations

We enjoyed two university graduations in November.

Our daughter, Lilliane Wishavura, finished her courses in business at Akilah Institute for Women in Kigali. Our son, Alexander Prince, graduated in computer science from Adventist University of Central Africa, Masoro campus, in Kigali.

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Lilliane’s graduation ceremony was held at the Kigali Convention Centre. It is an amazing place and perfect for this celebration. The auditorium is spacious. The graduation was impressive very well organized.

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The grounds outside are beautiful even on a rainy day.

The grounds outside are beautiful even on a rainy day.

The center was able to contain a huge crowd. Room for all.

The center was able to contain a huge crowd. Room for all.

Attending her graduation were her mother and her Urukundo sister Divine.

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Also there was Jean Marie Ntwari, executive director of the Urukundo Foundation. Oh yes, I was there too.

Also there was Jean Marie Ntwari, executive director of the Urukundo Foundation. Oh yes, I was there too.

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Later in the afternoon at lunch, it was my pleasure to meet Alan and Joan Graustein from New Hampshire, USA. They are with the Rwanda Children Education Foundation. This organization’s motto is “Helping Children Succeed.” Its Rwandan executive director, Jeanine Mukarubega, also shared in the conversation. It was interesting meeting people with like minds.

Alexander’s graduation from Adventist University of Central Africa also was impressive.

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The auditorium was huge. The students were many. Friends and family filled the space to capacity. It was impressive even though I could see nothing and understand even less. We were there to honor Alexander and did manage to get a few photos.

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Alexander’s aunt accompanied us from Muhanga to the graduation.

Later you will read in my book as I tell about Alexander and his very clever grandmother. Thanks to her, Alexander came to Urukundo 11 years ago. I am sorry his grandmother did not live to see her boy succeed in getting to university and graduating with his bachelor’s in computer science.

October 2019 Newsletter

October has been a mixed bag.

There have been good times, sad times and times to celebrate. Seasons are ever changing in Rwanda, and October is a month of torrents of rain. Sunshine, warm days, heavy rain and mud. Still a good place to live.

Heavy rain flooded the garden area. All planted seeds were washed away. We start over.

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Walls do work wonders. Had the wall not been there, all the water and topsoil would have been in my house, plus much more. Retaining walls do work.

Rhubarb and tree tomatoes held the ground a little. A lot of rework to be done.

In process

In process

The ground is ready for replanting. We have dug a ditch to have the water coming from the mountain bypass the garden. It was good to put more bricks in the walkway to avoid the mud caused by too much rain.

Tragedies happen

This one close to home, school and heart.

Excess rain can be a serious problem in Rwanda. Our beautiful mountains are also dangerous in the season of rain. Mudslides are a constant threat. Older homes made of mud bricks have a tendency to weaken after many years of torrential rains.

Dorcus, a fourth-grade student at the Urukundo Learning Center, was injured in a freak accident. Dorcus was in the shower in her home get ready to come to school. A severe rainstorm was up in the mountain above her home. The mudslides caused by the storm hit the house above her home, pushing it into the wall surrounding her compound. The wall then crashed into the home, causing the wall in the room where she was bathing to collapse and crushing the little girl beneath the bricks. The mud bricks used to build a house weigh 40 pounds or more each.

Rescuing her and getting help to get her to the hospital took much too long. She was rushed to Kabgayi Hospital and then to a hospital in Kigali. So much damage to her little body. In two days, she had three surgeries.

Doctors have done their best. Dorcus has a long recovery time ahead once she makes it out of ICU. Prayers are needed for Dorcus and her family.

Dental Clinic update

May I introduce trainees Rahab Nyiransengiyumva (dental assistant) and Pascal Ubuzima (dentist in training)?

The other two, Ishmael Niyitegeka (chairside assistant) and Oliver Kansiime (our dentist) you have met before.

In the picture, Rahab is on the left, followed by Ishmael, Oliver and Pascal.

In the picture, Rahab is on the left, followed by Ishmael, Oliver and Pascal.

We are delighted to add our dental chair assistant, Rahab, and dentist in training,,Pascal. They are needed additions to the dental staff. Rahab has held other positions at Urukundo, starting as a cleaner and then shopkeeper at the Sewing Center, a caregiver in the daycare and now in training to be a chairside dental assistant. It is our pleasure to give talented, ambitious employees a chance for career advancement.

Pascal is a recent graduate from the University of Rwanda School of Medicine specializing in dentistry.

Our head dental person, Oliver, is an excellent teacher for a young person entering the field. Ishmael and Oliver will help Rahab to become an outstanding chairside assistant.

Notice the sign over the door.

Demonstration of how teeth should be brushed. Anyone have teeth this big? I think not.

Demonstration of how teeth should be brushed. Anyone have teeth this big? I think not.

Inside the clinic. A great team and equipment.

Inside the clinic. A great team and equipment.