Visitors for September

International team at Urukundo Village.

Front row : Shona, Scotland; Katrina, Australia.  Second row : Nancy, Texas; Kathleen, Australia.  Top row : Caroline, UK;  Mary Ann, UK.

This team arrived about 10 am and moved a ton of bricks. They worked very hard.

Troy from Australia, Stephanie, France and Deborah from Cyprus had been here two days ago but could not come on photo day and so are not in the picture.  It is unusual for a team of 9 to be from 6 different countries!  The afternoon was spent at Hope House with the children.

David and Sam.

Sam Buck from UK spent 7 weeks at Urukundo and returned home Sept 9th. The boys come down in the mornings asking 'Where is Sam?'. They think he should be back at Urukundo by now.

Presbyterian delegation from Pa visited Urukundo for a day.

Good friends Marilyn Ely from Trout Run, Pa and Meredith Bakke from Madison, Wisconsin came to share in the activities at Urukundo Village.

Their time here included a visit to see the Gorillas up close and personal (a bit scary!) and to experience Rwanda's ancient history before, during and after the Kings.

Quilt Tales

Pastor Sunny from Christ Church, McKeansburg, PA.

Megan Bensinger second time visitor to Urukundo.  Megan is a dancer and brought her toe shoes and a costume to dance for the kids.

Quilts arrived from the quilters at McKeansburg.

Miracles do happen - the quilts arrived two days after the team came. God is good and the team were able to give the children each their very own quilt. The kids call them SLEEPERS.

Mama has the honor of fitting the quilts to the babies.. Notice the babies on the backs of the little mamas!

Then the toddlers got theirs.

The whole Nursery in sleepers.

The quilts are beautiful!

The older children also received quilts and there was one for me. Thank you quilters!

Performing Arts at Urukundo

The arts are a big part of our program and this month our children were introduced to Ballet.

Megan Bensinger, a volunteer from PA, has been dancing since age 4 and did a fantastic performance for the children.

We have suggested when she returns she teach ballet to our kids. We would need slippers. If you have used slippers contact Megan walkingbyfaith5@aim.com

or send them to 

Urukundo Foundation

BP 179 Muhanga

South Province

Rwanda

Megan and the dance. Our kids were so impressed as were the adults.

Visitors and girls in a fashion show at the August birthday party :  our visitors wore traditional Rwandan dress while the girls wore fashions from everywhere!

Volunteers in August

Volunteers were a blessing this month of August

Nathan and Anna from Puyallup, Washington spent two weeks with us. This was Nathan's second trip to Rwanda and first trip to Urukundo. His first trip was while he was a university student and he is now a teacher. His bride Anna came with him. We enjoyed their visit and the work they did for us.

Liz and Keenen - mom and son - are volunteers from California.

The team from Christ Church McKeansburg, PA:

One team member is missing. Sorry Bri. 

Sam Buck from the UK is a long term visitor. He is training to be a youth leader and is involved in sports, projects, English classes. devotions.  Sam arrived July 16th and goes home September 9th.

While they were here our August volunteers traveled to Inyanza, the capital of South Province, to the historic Kings' Palaces.  The three palaces range from the ancient to the present day.  They also visited the Art Museum, The Museum of Natural History at Butare and the Twa Pottery Center at Gatagara.  The visit to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali City gave them a realistic view of the happenings in 1994.

Our Volunteers at Work

Talia and Nicole from Bloomsburg, Pa. painting the outside walls of the Boys' House. A great job for a warm day.  Our kids did not think they could do it. The job was a success. The house is good for another two years.

Liz James, a volunteer from California, takes a turn in the kitchen.

Liz and her son Keenen from California are spending a month getting to share many facets of Urukundo and its children. 

Washing dishes and pans in the oversized sink is interesting work.

Meredith Comes Home

What a welcome from the kids. She has been so missed. Meredith was a Peace Corps volunteer for 2 years and spent time volunteering at Urukundo Home for Children as her second project. In that time she became family. She is from Seattle, Washington in the USA.

Learning English can be Fun

The advanced English class had a learning night out in Kigali City thanks to their teacher Lise Martilotta.

Those present for the gathering were: Jean Marie, Jolly, Delphine, Oswald and Felicitie - all from Urukundo's staff.   The lovely blond is of course Lisa. Lisa hails from Long Island, New York.

Trip to Akagera National Park

In May Jan Brown, the Cyakabiri teachers and the girls visited Akagera National Park.   The animals are wonderful and a delight to see.

Not to be outdone by the girls the boys with their benefactor Lisa, our visitors Talia and Nicole and several staff member made the trip also.

Each trip was different and the kids appreciated being invited to go on the 5 hour journey each way.

They packed a lunch and then munched on bananas on the ride home.

It was a long journey and a good time was had by all.

Animals include cape buffalo, warthogs, zebra, water buck mama and calf, impala, giraffe, older male baboon and hippos.

Urukundo Foundation and this mama want to thank both Jan Brown and Lisa Martilotta for giving such a wonderful opportunity to be shared by our children.

Cyakabiri School

Learning should be fun and at Cyakabiri School it is.

Making balls the Rwandan cultural way sure beats shopping at the local mall.

This week Will returned to his home in the UK. He has been working as a volunteer at Cyakabiri School for two months.  Will intends to return in September.

Visitors for June

It was wonderful to welcome home Talia Sainclair and to meet and greet her friend and travel companion, Nicole Mainzer.

Both girls are from Bloomsburg, Pa. This is Talia's 3rd time as a volunteer at Urukundo Home for Children and Nicole's first.

How the kids knew we were coming I am not sure but Belise, Aline Molly, Aline, Claude, Luki, and David were at the gate waiting when we arrived yelling 'Talia! Talia!' and waving. When the driver stopped the car for the gate to open all 6 piled into the back seat on top of Talia. She was mobbed with love.

Moments when you don't have a camera handy.

Surgery on our Farm

Not your typical operating room, nor the normal procedure, but it works in Urukundo Village. The combined expertise of a vet from Rwanda and two vets from Austria has made a difference in our lives at Urukundo Home for Children and for our favorite and only milk cow DAISY.

Daisy is our source of milk for all 43 children and she had a problem that threatened milk production.  When Daisy was very young a cow herder hit her in the eye with a stick. She lost vision in that eye and it petrified. For some reason recently the eye began to water and enlarge, protruding more and more and causing Daisy pain.

Sam, our farm manager, was our driving force. When he heard that our visitor was a surgeon for animals he set things in motion to get Daisy the help she needed. Anesthesia was the critical need. Drs. Otto and Tina joined our on site vet in performing surgery.

A happy team after the successful operation.

Otto and Tina also spent time with the babies. Here they are with (l-r) David, Mama and Kenny, Rebekah.

Visitor of the Month

Ellen Galloway a three-time return Urukundo family member from Ohio and is pictured here spending some time with the kids. Ellen found it hard to believe how much the children have grown in her absence.