Today was a red letter day. The furniture for the PRIMARY SCHOOL was delivered.
The children know this is not actually the birthday of Jesus but a day that we, as his disciples set aside to worship and honor his birth. It is a very special day.
On Christmas Day we celebrated the birthday of Jesus with worship. The kids had a program and sang carols in English : SILENT NIGHT & JOY TO THE WORLD. They worked very hard to get all the English words properly. The staff and their children joined us and after worship we served juice and cake donuts for all and gifts for the children of the staff.
The red hats with URUKUNDO on the front are a gift to us from Gary Ehrig. There were enough for everyone to have one. It was very special. Thank you Gary.
We celebrated the party, hardy, Christmas on Christmas Eve. Food, fun and gifts for all the children. Fanta, sumbosa, a tree, music, dancing and 2 gifts for every child. It took place after dinner. The little ones had their treat and gifts first and went off to bed happy. The older kids then had their party into the evening.
The food and drink was provided by the sponsor of Liliane (Carolyn and Mark) who sent extra money for us to be used for Christmas. Thank you.
The music was a gift from Jean Marie one of our staff. The gifts were from boxes sent from our support family and friends to be shared with the children. Thank you all. Talia and Meredith came for Christmas with a gift for every child. What better family support could Urukundo have?
The kids sat on the floor of Hope House and opened gifts together. each child received a gift from you and a gift from our visitors Meredith and Talia.
The little children sang Happy Birthday Jesus. We all joined in. I am sure there were smiles in heaven.
Going to the building site Dec 28, 2012 I was surprised by an inspection team from the Muhanga District.
Vice Mayor Fortune and Exec Secretary Rodger from the sector were part of that team. Our report was a good one. School will open January 7 and an official opening will take place in March. Dec 31 we start moving into the class rooms. This is an exciting time specially for Luki, Emmanuel, Nelly and Claude as they will help with the move to prepare their new class room for other students. The January Newsletter will have news coverage of the school start up. Don't miss it!
Sending kids to school who would otherwise have little chance of receiving an education is a worthwhile project.
Just a reminder that it's not too late for the 2013 school year, which starts soon. Your gift of $15 supplies one child with a uniform, shoes, exercise books, pens, a sweater and a back pack. Where could you find a better bargain? It will do your heart good knowing you are making a difference in the life of a child and these children are so grateful.
I hope many of you will consider funding an education sponsorship.
It was a wonderful birthday celebration and I can't wait for the next one in ten years.
Thank you everyone who contributed to the fund for the Primary School as a gift to me.
Greetings from Urukundo, the home that love built. What an exciting month. Some good days, and some not so good. Our kids all came home from boarding school. It was great to have all 44 of them home at one time. Worship was outstanding. They were here a short time and went on holiday with extended family. The time at Urukundo passed too quickly, but they will be home for Christmas. Even the primary kids are on holiday. With all who are away we still have 21 kids in the houses. It is never lonely here.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Rwanda Commission for Children has taken some very positive steps to protect vulnerable children and is asking orphanages (institutions) and homes for children to assist in connecting children to their extended families.
The government is endeavoring to give responsibility to the Rwandan people for the children connected in any way to their families. In compliance with the new regulations set forth by the government to protect the rights of the children, Urukundo Foundation has enlisted the families to take part in the lives of the children. This includes Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Mothers or Dads with little or no income. I do not know how this will work but we know how important family ties are. Preserving the Rwandan family is one of our criteria at our home for children.
Urukundo is and will remain home to the children. They have been family for 6 years and have grown up here. These are kids from 7 to 19 years of age. The children will continue to have a choice as to where they will spend holidays, which they have always had. Not much will change, but in writing we conform to government regulations and keep our kids secure. Urukundo will, with the help of our sponsors, continue to cover tuition, school supplies, medical insurance, savings at Fina Bank for the kids, and food and lodging here at home. Their families will take care of them while they are with them. This also has not changed. Unless there are further changes by the government there will be no effect on the primary and Nursery kids or the older adolescents who have no extended families. God in Charge.
Last year for my 81st Birthday in December I requested Legos for the kids at Urukundo Village and the Cyakabiri Preschool and the response was wonderful.
For my 82nd birthday I am asking my family and friends to consider a monetary gift to help finish construction on the 3 classrooms at the yet unnamed Primary School. The amount does not have to be great just a gift from the heart.
The gift can be sent to
HOPE MADE REAL
PO BOX 3222
WILLIAMSPORT, PA 17701
In memo line: "school construction".
Thank You.
Here are the facts. We hope to be a self sufficient organization one day. For the last four years we have taken definite steps toward making this HOPE REAL. It is happening. In 2007, with the vision already in place, we purchased our first land which we used for the chickens. The poultry farm started with this piece of land, 1 small house and 40 Rwandan free-range chickens. It has now grown to 2 large houses and 300 quality layers. The original small house is now an incubator for baby chicks, layers to replace older layers when they stop producing and become the makings of chicken soup. Our chickens provide eggs for our children - one egg a week for our preschool kids - and we have a good market in the Gitarama and Ream hotels which buy all the eggs we can produce. Some customers order from Kigali - our eggs are good eggs!
Alongside the layers we have 4 houses for broiler chickens. Broilers are raised for meat and we have 200 in each house. They are purchased as day old chicks, raised for 3 months and shipped to the market. These are also sold by the kilo. Each month the oldest chickens go to market and new day old chicks take their place.
Next on the production chain are rabbits. We have a rabbit hutch big enough for 60 rabbits. We sell the overflow to others who want to start their own hutches and we slaughter and freeze the rest. It is a good meat for our kids and we also sell it to the community. Goats are raised only for meat. We just slaughtered 6, packaged and froze them for future use. We do not keep a lot of them as they are hard to control. They can escape through the tiniest holes in the fence. Then they are never seen again.
We are blessed to have been given a donation to buy a large freezer by a group in Canada. Our electricity fluctuates but the generator kicks on and all is well. We are able to freeze meat and vegetables to help
with food costs.
Another revenue source is our pigs. Yes, we do breed pigs. We have 5 mama pigs and one strong male. Each mama gives birth to 9 or more piglets at a time. The piglets sell very well. We may in time butcher
pigs, but not yet. Pork is not a big seller in the country markets. Rwandans are just beginning to appreciate pork and to serve it in some restaurants.
We have two cows. One gives enough milk for our babies, the second one will give birth in two months and we will have milk for all the kids. In time with our own eggs and milk we hope to start a small bakery.
We will experiment on our own kids and if the bread and cakes are good we could start a small business in the community.
With manure from pigs and cows we have developed a Bio-gas field and now cook with bio-gas instead of all wood. We are helping the environment, having less smoke in our kitchen and making a healthier
work place for our cooks.
Our vegetable gardens are awesome. We harvest, feed our kids, share with our neighbors and sell in the market. Felicitie and Benjimin are in charge of the gardens.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next months presentation will be the Urukundo Learning Center.
I would like to be able to report then that the school is ready to receive 50 students in January 2013 but unless the funding happens the school will not be ready for the new term. If you intended to contribute to the building fund and have been putting it off now would be a good time to include that in your end of the year giving Hope Made Real is a 501c3 organization.
What a wonderful day for 47 kids and their proud parents with the wearing of the robe and mortar board as the first graduates from Cyakabiri Preschool.
The kids lined up for the march from the school to Hope House was spectacular. Led by the teachers they paraded in line for all to see followed by parents and friends.
A vision of blue and gold
Presenting diplomas to the graduates was the highlight for the Director of Cyakabiri Preschool.
The speakers were Felix, the contractor who built the preschool and is building the primary school, and one of the parents. The kids put on a skit about education. Songs were sung and two of the students gave a speech.
Now the younger kids want to know when we will have another graduation. That is so great because it gives them something to work toward.
Claude and Luki are proud of their educational achievements. Claude is our Valedictorian this year.
Claude
Luki
After two months Kirsten had become a welcome fixture at the nurses office in Urukundo Village. Her leaving was as hard on her as it was the kids and mama.
