Greetings from Urukundo for February 2014

February was full of exciting events at Urukundo Home & Learning Center.

On February 1st an event that seemed impossible took place. Imagine being able to be fitted for a custom garment, and then have a photo op in the finished gift - for all 23 children at Urukundo!

The kids were thrilled and had a great time when Janet  and Angela Murray, seamstresses from Canada came to visit. They bought material at the market and worked with the staff at the sewing Center to complete their project.

A dress for each girl and shorts for each boy. The kids saw the process from start to finish.

The day started sunny and bright. Janet and Angela worked to finish their project as today was their last day to be with the kids.

They were due to leave at 3 PM. Most important they wanted photos. The morning was perfect for photo taking. This is Rwanda!

About 1:30 the sun left and the rain came. This was not on our schedule! Photos would have to be taken on the front porch. The lawn would have been so great and the rain would not last long but their timetable was set.  Mama's front room became a room of activity as last minute adjustments took place and play clothes were chucked and finishing touches and modeling of handiwork took place. Such fun for Janet, Angela, the mamas, myself and the kids.

Boys model shorts!

while the girls modeled sun dresses. (with boys in the back ground being boys).  In the photo: 

Janet, Angela, myself & four of our wonderful mamas : Chantel, Delphine, Betty, Francois & the kids.

Visitors

Laura Rowland from Pittsburgh, Pa, USA arrived February third and will be with us for three months. Laura is working with the teachers in the preschool in both the morning and afternoon sessions. Teachers and helpers are needed.  Laura is doing a first rate job.

In late afternoon she helps with the children at dinned and joins them for devotions. We are blessed to have this young woman at Urukundo Village.

Visitor from Burundi

Nadine’s visit was a return trip. She visited us in 2009 while still a student. She has finished that period of her life and came back to see the kids she knew in 2009. Of course that did not happen because like her, their lives have moved on and they were all at boarding school. She now has a whole new family of children at Urukundo, all under 7 years of age. She will come back in April when the older kids come home from school.

Nadine playing with Nursery kids at play time.

Diane and Soso. Quite an armful.

Visitors from Canada and the US

A wonderful mixed team from Canada and the US paid a very short visit to Urukundo. Their main purpose was to visit the school and see the Dental Initiative firsthand. This was Misty and Debbie's second visit. They were here in 2012 and found the changes rather interesting. Janet and Mariah visited for the first time. It was a fast 2 hours but a delightful one.

Volunteers at Urukundo

Benjamin Grange from France.

Benjamin is involved with solar energy and did some maintenance  on our solar connections and worked at teaching the kids how to Juggle colorful balls made specially for the sport.  This is not easy! We worked hard to juggle just 2 balls, while he juggled 5 with no problem.  He left the balls and the kids are practicing so when he comes back he will be surprised.

CLAUDE, ALINE, CLAUDINE, BELISE enjoy a photo moment with Benjamin.

Mother and Daughter come to Urukundo to help at the Sewing Center. Janet Murray and her daughter Angela from Canada.

Visitors

Seems the most difficult thing for our visitors to do is to leave the children. Real attachments take place.

Abigail who said she never cries was in tears as she left the kids and Urukundo with the promise that she would be back.  The kids want to know when.

They are doing the exercises and Gymnastics and using the hula hoops as she taught them. 

It is so funny seeing them doing hand stands against the walls  and cartwheels in the garden.  In Rwanda "the garden" is the lawn not a place where we plant and grow seeds.

Visitors from Austria at the preschool 

Otto Fischer and his team spent an overnight at Urukundo following their trip to the source of the Nile. 

The men find the seats at the school a bit small for long legs.

Otto is a yearly visitor to Urukundo. Many of you will remember he is the Veterinarian who operated on Daisy's eye several years ago.  We look forward to his visit each year about this time. 

Otto's new camera takes great pictures.

Secondary Students and teacher from Green Hills Academy paid Urukundo Village and Learning Center a visit  in October. We were sorry our secondary kids were not at home to exchange ideas with this group.

They were most welcome.

Teachers

Our need for educators to come and work with our teachers on best practices in teaching continues. Our schools are in session when your's are closed for the summer. A trip to Rwanda would be an excellent vacation, well spent helping others! Whatever your talent or ability, it can be used at Urukundo Home and Learning Center.

EXAMPLE

Abigail from New Zealand & Australia is spending a month teaching Gymnastics and acrobatics with a circus flavor. The kids love it. Abigail is here for a month. The kids call her Aby-girl.

Abby and Sarah.

Abby and Kinella.

Abby and Luki.

What a delight it was to have Joanna and Pacifique visit Urukundo Village.

Joanna is from California and lives in Rwanda. Her business here is called "Comprehensive Language Services."

She lives in Kigali but now is connected to Urukundo by love.

Pacifique is a young man with a future. He is a Rwandese author having written 3 books in Kinyarwandan.  He was raised in JAM Orphanage and is devoting his life to letting other orphans know they can build a future with motivation and a goal. He is a very interesting person. His time with us was spent sharing his time with the kids and reading to them.  Pacifique is not only an author he is an excellent reader.

You met Kyle from Texas last month (photo in September newsletter) He is teaching 2 Adult English classes a day. One for beginners and one for more advanced students.  Others have come to work on the farm and in construction. There is no end to the volunteer work you can do if you love children and want to help.

These young women are Nursing students from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

They are classmates of Meredith Lu. Meredith spent 2 years at Urukundo through Peace Corps and returned to the US to follow a career in Nursing at JHU. She asked the girls to visit David her sponsored child at Urukundo.

David just turned 6 and will be in Primary one 2014. Meredith: he is waiting for you to come home to Urukundo.  The girls were here for a short time but played with the children and wandered the grounds of Urukundo Village.  The kids had a great time with them while they were here.

Thank you Meredith.

Catherine Willman, Shannon Heuklom,  Heather Holloway.

Visitors of the Month

Kyle Jerro is here on his fourth visit in two years. Kyle is working on his PHD from  University of Texas in Austin. Kyle says he is home when he at Urukundo. He truly is a member of the Urukundo family. He will be with us until after Christmas when he will return to Texas to finish his education.  Kyle is a Linguist and while here he is teaching the Mamas a class in English. He is a hero to the kids. First question from the kids when they come to play is "Where is Kyle?

Short term visitors

Melanie Kiendl and Judith Kampe visited Urukundo.

Both young women are medical students from Germany. Their visit was short but such a pleasure.

(left) Judy      (right) Melanie

Mama Francois & kids pose for pictures with Melanie & Judy.  Kids love to have pictures taken.

Mama joined the group.

Game Time

Memory is a great game for the younger set. These games are played at Mama's house with supervision.

Rebecca, David, Aline, Soso.  Soso is learning Mama helps him.

Another game loved by the kids is UNO. 

Here Belisa and Claude play with Bella our visitor from California.

Chicken foot with dominoes.

Great fun.

Playground

The play ground is getting used a lot.  It serves 3 groups of kids, our children, the school children and children from the community. It is such a blessing.

The kids still need a sliding board of sorts and some kind of merry-go-round.

Volunteer Bella from California looking out for Diane. Swings can be a hazard to your health but fun.

Visitors

Visitors from several states spent a couple hours at Urukundo. One of the most interesting people traveling with them was William Mwizerwa.

William and his family live in Tennessee, USA. He is Rwandese and originally from Gitarama, Muhanga District. 

William is serving in mission. He is Director of www.legacymissionvillage.org in the US. You might want to check his web site.

Their visit was too short. They were great fun and their time with the kids was priceless.

Juliet our staff secretary, John Paul and many time visitor Talia from Bloomsburg, Pa are puzzle fans. This is an important pass time now in mama's house.

Spending time at Hope House with the children is great fun for visitors and a big help to Mama Arlene.

Suzanne Sklaney worked the puzzle Noah's Ark with Claude and Agide.

Larissa Sinclair is learning to build blocks and knock them down. Our baby Diane and big sister Sarah are the teachers. Sarah is 4 years old a great teacher.

Kaboss is an independent thinker and loves this double sided puzzle. Talia is there to assist.

Talia now has a namesake in Rwanda.  Baby Talia is the daughter of Oswald our full time driver since 2009. She is as beautiful as the young lady she was named for.