Progress report on classrooms for Cyakabiri School for Young Children, the HEART of Urukundo Learning Center.
We hope to be ready to open the new class rooms for the April term. We are working to make this HOPE REAL.
Furniture, a water tank and a sealer for the bricks are part of the building process yet to be dealt with. Looking for a project?? Here are three very necessary ones to consider.
Need of the Month
If you have stayed with me to the end of this very long newsletter, here is the need for the preschool:
We have 3 classrooms and a Nursery and only one set of cardboard bricks. These are a favorite of the kids!
Greetings from Mama Arlene in Rwanda for January 2012
Hello from Urukundo Village.
What a blessing it is to be home to warm weather. I love Pennsylvania but winter is not the time to visit there. Snow is beautiful from inside the house. Sunshine and warm is better.
Yes, I am home with the children and what a joyful reunion it was. There were flowers everywhere. Hugs and tears from the older kids and staff and many knee hugs from the toddlers. I keep wanting to call them babies but truly they are toddlers. Even Soso has moved out of the baby category. His little legs let him travel fast.
After greetings the Kids gathered around me in my living room and sang "OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD" They prayed and thanked God for bringing me home to be with them.
A bouquet of flowers was handed to me. These flowers grow on our land.
My bed room and Office door decoration.
The perfect Birthday present for my 81st birthday may sound a little strange, but for me it was such a pleasure when those who honored my birthday each came or sent a gift of Legos. This gift will be appreciated at Urukundo Village and at the Urukundo Learning center for years to come.
A special thanks to all who were a part of this wonderful celebration.
The Legos were moved from their wonderful containers into Zip Lock bags to make transporting easier. I thank my daughter Patricia for hosting the birthday party and for gathering and zip locking the Legos. Even after bagging, 2 large suitcases were needed to bring my treasures home.
Mama the teacher.
Checking the little book for directions. It takes a kid to deal with this. Adults find them interesting and difficult, including me. But we work it out. The Legos are a great learning tool dealing with colors, sizes, combinations and following picture directions. Every Mom, Dad and child should work on the project together. Both will learn patience.
Christmas
What a wonderful Christmas was celebrated at Urukundo Village. I give thanks to those of you who sent boxes with gifts for Urukundo's Children and Staff and their children. I was not here but the children tell me it was "very good".
Thank you.
Support for Community Primary Students
Each year I worry that the funds will not come and each year you respond and the funds do come. You renew my faith continually.
We increased our gift by 9 and so 338 children are in the education system because of your generous gifts for their futures.
Thank you all.
April Challenge
A message from the Board of Hope Made Real
You can help by eating dinner! That's right. If you live in an area where a Denny's restaurant is located, you can set up a fundraiser for the month of April 2012. Just contact you local Denny's for details - meet with the manager and then invite others to join you at Denny's for dinner. Let's make April a fantastic month for Urukundo Village and Education Center. Then, let us know the results of your efforts. Denny's will donate 20% of profits from not only your group but everyone eating at their restaurant during the time your group is there.
Please join us!
From the Nursery
Kavine and Diane continue to grow and be the center of attention.
Kavine is a happy, healthy little girl. She is trying to sit up alone. That's a big job! She laughs out loud, gurgles and reaches for my finger. Real progress.
Diane's arm is healing, thanks to Nancy, our in-house Nurse. She has done the physical therapy necessary to save the arm from becoming a disability.
The wound on Diane's face is filling in quite well but there may be a small scar. Only time and Nancy's special attention will tell.
Nancy has been a volunteer with Urukundo Foundation since 2008. She comes from New Hampshire, USA. Nancy is a retired Army nurse and Nurse Practitioner.
We are doubly blessed to have her as she is acting coordinator for Urukundo Learning Center working with two Early Childhood teachers in the US with the necessary credentials.
Farm News
The big news is that mama pig has 9 babies, and the second mama has 5 - our pig population is exploding!
Mama and five babies. I just learned that baby pigs snuggle when they are cold. It seems animals have many Instincts attributed to people.
Our animals have all been tagged and records will be kept for each animal. This gives us a history for our animal.
More news
Daisy and two of the young heifers are pregnant and soon will deliver, increasing our cows count to 8. We're hoping for all female offspring.
This will also increase our milk production. At this time, only one of our cows is producing milk and so we have to buy milk from a local farmer. Of course that also helps the economy but I will be glad when we have all the milk we need and can offer the excess for sale.
Our baby. Her mama is supplying the milk for her and our kids.
Chicken Farm News
The incubator is ready and we will start hatching our own baby chicks. The design is simple and I hope it will add to the assets at our farm.
We still need some kind of thermostat for it. Any ideas?
Our farm now has about 300 layers (for eggs) and 100 broilers (for meat). Our children have eggs twice a week. Eggs have been named as an important food to aid in learning, so we provide eggs to the preschool once a week and we sell eggs to the community for a lesser price making it possible for them to purchase for their families. We also have a market for extra eggs. We do not expect to make a big profit but it would be good if the income from eggs and chickens paid for the food to keep them. Might not be the best business practice but it makes good sense to me!
Urukundo Learning Center
A gift was given to Urukundo Foundation designated for the much-needed classrooms for our Learning Center. Additional funds are needed for cement and bricks.
Work began January 20, 2012 on the new classrooms.
This shows construction after 1 day.
Progress to January 28, 2012
The construction in progress will have two classrooms, an office and toilet.
Meet our Students at Urukundo Learning Center
A new morning class. These children are meeting in HOPE HOUSE until their classroom is finished.
Bricks and cement are needed for completion of the classroom. The children inspect the progress of construction each day. They know it will be for them and it is surprising how interested they are seeing the work being done. We may have some engineers in the group!
A new afternoon class in Hope House.
The kids in the next two pictures will be our first graduates from preschool in 2 years. We must have a Primary School built by then to receive the graduates. In Rwanda the age for starting Primary school is 6 years. They will be ready. But will we?
Cyakabiri Class second term, afternoon class - 5 year olds who graduate in 2013.
Second term morning class in Cyakabiri classroom - 3 and 4 year olds.
Water and Solar Pump Project
In February the final dedication of the project will take place. It has been in operation for over 2 months and is serving the community very well.
I have been remiss in thanking all who made this project possible.
Water Project:
Caring UMC groups from State College, Pennsylvania.
Park Forest Village UMC
St. Paul's UMC
Woodycrest UMC
Centre Hall UMC
Houserville UMC
AND Runville UMC in Bellefonte
Trinity UMC in Jersey Shore
Penbrook Trinity UMC in Harrisburg
A special thank you to:
The International Service Team at Rotary Club of St John's Northwest District 7820, Canada
Solar Pump Power Project:
Rotary International
Spearheaded by: Forest Hills Rotary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On site management: Kigali-Virunga Rotary Club Kigali City, Rwanda.
Thank you to all who made this project a success and gave gifts from the heart so that clean water would make life better for our community.