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.

Kindergarten Graduation

Thirty-seven 6 year olds finished Kindergarten Saturday October 26.

TRYING ON CAPS AND GOWNS

Gathering for the march to Hope House for the ceremony.

The March.

I joined the March 

Family & friends attend the ceremony.

Next year Hope House will be too small for the ceremony as our children increase and more  parents coming to honor their kids.

Students in our school.

Receiving Diploma.

Visitors for October

Our visitors are not many but so valued. We are happy to welcome them for the short- or long term.

ABIGAIL arrived on October 18. She is our very first visitor from New Zealand. Awesome. She teaches in a Circus School in Australia and is sharing her expertise with our children.

Daisy Wiberg hails from California, USA. She came to Rwanda to visit her brother who is here with Peace Corps. During her time here she came to volunteer for a week at Urukundo.

Daisy won the hearts of the children and they came to love her very much. With tears in her eyes as she hugged the kids bye she promised "I will be back".

Daisy and Mama.

Yani is a young Rwandan woman who has just finished her secondary education and is interested in education. She wishes to contribu 

as a teacher in her country helping children in need. After finishing her education we hope she will return to Urukundo in our school system. 

 

A note for those who are new

and for those who may need a reminder of who we are and why we are in Rwanda.

Urukundo Foundation is a 'Not for Profit' association serving the vulnerable children in Cyeza Sector, Muhanga District, South Province, Rwanda, Africa.

The need for affordable education for orphans, abandoned and very poor children in Rwanda is critical. Urukundo Foundation and Urukundo Learning Center under the Umbrella of Hope Made Real & Spiritworks Inc. in the United States is building such a school  system.

These are just a few of the children you are helping to go to primary school.

For your consideration and supporting love:

Having established Urukundo Learning Center we now have even greater outreach to the children in the community and the country.  Urukundo Learning Center includes Phase #1 of the Cyakabiri Preschool Project.  This has 3 completed classrooms and presently serves 150 children with a staff of 6 plus a crossing guard, a night guard and a maintenance man.

Phase #2 primary grades 1 and 2, each with two classrooms, is completed and 94 students will be attending classes in 2014.  In addition we have 2 rooms for library, music and art. The primary school at present has three teachers and a security man at night. We need to employ 3 more teachers for year 2014.

The project at present is to construct and equip 8 more primary classrooms. In time this school will include all 6 elementary grades with 2 rooms for each grade. 

Your help is needed.  Urukundo owns the land free and clear needed for this project. Your gift will be used to help construct and equip the necessary classrooms. We believe every child should be given the opportunity to learn to read and write and reach his or her potential. Each child is unique. Our purpose is to provide educational opportunities for children in need and equip them with moral values to become independent, productive citizens. 

Would you consider giving a gift for education? A gift that will change the life of many children and the future of a country. This is a far-reaching gift, a gift that has no end. It will keep on giving. 

Gifts for Urukundo Home for Children and the children of the community can be sent to:

HOPE MADE REAL PO Box 3222, Williamsport PA 17701

SPIRITWORKS INC 301 Overdale Road, Pittsburgh PA 15221

SAINT JOHNS/NEWBERRY 2101 Newberry Street, Williamsport PA 17701

All are 501(c)(3) non-profits and donations are tax deductible in the US. 

Thank you on behalf of all the kids at Urukundo Home and Learning Center for your consideration.

Arlene D Brown

Founder Hope Made Real

Director Urukundo Foundation

Urukundo Learning Center

Muhanga, Rwanda

Africa

Greetings from Urukundo Village for September 2013

Hello from Urukundo Village & Learning Center.

September has been full of surprises.  Some good and some not so good.  Sharing with you is important to me. It lets me look at the events of the month and make adjustments where necessary.

Each evening after 7pm. I go up to the Boys' Home and share in devotions with the little kids. Last evening was rather special because Claudine said the prayer for the group. Last Sunday she sang a solo using the microphone. This is the child who was blind, had a hole in her heart and was expected to be mentally handicapped because of her early lack of care and nutrition. 

She remains a miracle. In three years the difference is astounding.

What a difference three years have made!

Vitamin Time

How exciting to get up in the morning and eat a Lion, Hippo or an Elephant, all in different flavors and then to get a hug from Mama!

A great way to start a day for the kids and for me.

I think the very best news are the facts. Thanks to all of you who collected vitamins and sent then, and to those who gave them to me to bring home in my luggage.  It is gratifying to see results when you and I have put forth a combined effort. I am so happy to share with you who helped us with Vitamins.

THE EVENT.

The kids come to my room every morning. This is a two-fold blessing. They come for VITAMINS and I get to check on each of them. Our children are doing well. We have fewer colds, runny noses and sick days. We are passing through the second rainy season and I am sure it is the vitamins that are making the difference. 

Pictured below is the check off book. Each child's name is in the book and I keep a record each day as to who got their vitamin. With 20 kids and one Mama it is not possible to remember who did or did not get the vitamin so Mama's book and Janet's pen are vital to the process. Each kid has his favorite animal and would gladly have more than one vitamin a day just to eat the animal!

What a surprise for me to discover the vitamins are animals the kids know live in Africa.

During my visit in Williamsport my daughter-in-law Janet gave me a flowered pen. The kids loved the pen and it is the only one used to mark off who got the vitamins. Not only do they bring the vitamin bottle to me but they also bring the book and Janet's pen.  The kids know where their name is in the book. Thank you Janet the pen is great fun.

No More Candles

A near tragedy and our eyes were opened to how dangerous candles are.         

We have been using candles when the electricity goes out from the very beginning at Urukundo. The electricity goes out most every day for a time and that time is usually at the evening meal. Since it is dark by 6 pm and dinner is 6:30 pm, light is necessary for the kids to see to eat.  It was time for devotions so I walked up to the homes. The children were still in the dining room - the lights were out and candles were lit.  The first thing I saw was 6 year old Nelly holding a burning candle and trying to get it to stand up. This apparently is not unusual because no Mama paid attention. I went to Nelly and took the burning candle from her, and told her how dangerous it was. While I talked to Nelly, Becca, a four year old took a lit candle from the table without being observed since the lighting was very poor.

  

She went into the little girls' bedroom.  We heard a scream and thank God she had not closed the door. She had set a box of papers on fire. Flames were shooting up. Becca was screaming. The mamas handled the fire well before it got out of hand while I took care of a frightened Becca. The point is it never should have happened. If the blankets, curtains  or her clothes had caught fire it would have been a tragedy I could not live with.  

That night was a warning. There will be no more candles used in our compound. 

Our friends THE WILLIAMS FAMILY from Michigan some time ago started a solar light business in Kigali. They had given us some for free and some at a discount. We used them in our guest rooms and each night guard had one. The Boys' Home had one and there was one in the Girls' Home but they did not keep them charged. The nursery had one but did not know where it was. Why did I not think about the dining room?  Our eyes were opened and each table in the dining room will have two and every room in the kids house will have one, thanks to an appeal to HMR's board of directors. They really came through and the kids will no longer be in danger from burning candles.

Our need was for K-lights for the dining room. These are the solar lights available to us here in Kigali City.

They are also for sale in the US and work better than flashlights that need batteries.

Gasogi Secondary School

Lucie and Dada where part of a special event at Gasogi Secondary School. The school has a Worship Center and the girls were chosen to be leaders in the worship service. Lucie's goal is to be a Pastor some day and so it is fitting that she was chosen as a leader.

Dada has not shared with me what her goals are yet but she is a designated helper in the worship service. It is an honor for both girls to have been chosen by their colleagues.

This is a first step for Lucie.

It was a very colorful event.

I was there and sitting the the honored guest. Awesome.

Concerns of a Mama

 His name is Claude. He is six years old and in first grade. He is number one in his class.

Love him dearly.

Now the CONCERN.

On the 27th August they carried an unconscious Claude from the school to my clinic. He had just put his head down on his desk and did not respond to efforts to wake him.

His eyes were rolled back in his head and he was limp as a rag. No response of any kind. We rushed him to the hospital. He was still unconscious when we arrived at the second hospital. The hospital did checks, started an IV, did some blood work and waited. I held his little hand and prayed. It was frightening to be able to do nothing. After about an hour of doing nothing he moved, turned his head, opened his eyes and said 'bete' (hi). mama and his eyes wondered why I was there and where he was. He seemed to have awakened from a nap. They kept him overnight and admitted they could find nothing wrong. He came home the next day with the admonition if it happened again, we should come back and they would give us a referral to CHUK Hospital in Kigali.

5 days later he was carried home again. Same procedure. Only this time after waiting for him to regain consciousness they sent him home and told us to come back at 8 the next morning for a referral to the other hospital covered my MUTUAL Insurance.  We finally got the referral about 11 am. It was a bit late to travel to the hospital in Kigali but I feared to wait so we went. 

We arrived a little after 12 noon and thank God the doctor was still there. He also could find nothing wrong but ordered a brain scan. The doctor wrote out the order for yet another hospital and signed it. We went directly from CHUK Hospital to King Faisal Hospital because they had the best equipment to do the scan. We expected to be given an appointment but instead they agreed to do the scan at once. They asked would we pay cash as a private patient. "No," the hospital that sent us was covered by our insurance. Now it seems the doctor should have had his supervisor sign the order and he did not so it was no good. Our insurance would not cover it and it was a lot of money by Rwanda standards. I was more than a bit upset and a woman in the office took pity on us and said she would help us because it was not our mistake. The scan ended up costing us 6,000 Rwanda Frw $12 USD. Imagine a brain scan for $12!!

We had to return the next morning as there was no one to read the scan. Another trip to Kigali but important. Claude was doing fine. The  scan was scary for a little kid but he was brave and after the scan told me it was a funny bed. "But I wasn't scared Mama!" He laughed at the big blue apron Oswald had to wear to stand with him while Mama went into the other room to look at the photos the scanner had made of his brain. 

We picked up the scan and went back to the CHUK doctor. The report read "Everything is normal."  But now what?  We saw a different doctor than the one who ordered the scan. This doctor decided we should have an EKG. This was to rule out any heart problem. It was now 6 pm and the EKG lab was closed for the week end. So another trip to Kigali on Monday morning.  

Bottom Line

The EKG happened and a problem showed up. His heart is a healthy heart but it is too slow. The arrhythmia is off. A specialist was called in to read the EKG. We were blessed because Doctor Stephanie an American Pediatrician arrived at the hospital just 3 days before and was in on the consult.

Normal arrhythmia for a child is in the 60s, his is in the low 50s and during his quiet time it goes below 50 causing his body to want to sleep. The main concern is the length of time he is out. Should a breathing problem develop then we are in serious trouble.

An EEG was also done and it is normal.

We are going to treat him with caffeine  as a stimulant for the present. Both episodes have been after lunch and during a quiet time in school. Coffee seems like a strange medicine but if it works I am ok with it. After lunch he will come to my kitchen for a cup of strong coffee. The hope is to stimulate the heart activity. He has no problems as long as he is active. His heart is healthy. The arrhythmia is the problem - something different and a bit scary.

It has been three weeks now with no further episodes. We are taking one day at a time counting our blessings.

Great News

It is my pleasure to share with you that Tresor has been nominated by his school to apply for the MASTERCARD FOUNDATION SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Check out the web site.

We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. Please keep him in prayer.

This is an honor he has earned by hard work and courage. Tresor has been #1 in his class all through secondary school.

He is our first graduate in Rwanda and a good example for his brothers and sisters. Way to go Tresor.

New Teacher

Our new teacher is Josephine, an English teacher from Uganda. She is qualified to teach English in Preschool and Kindergarten  Josephine has a 3 year old daughter who will join her mother here in January when the new school year starts.

The School Land

The final piece of land for the addition to the primary school bought and paid for. Notice the surrounding community building up in the area because our village and school are there.

Now that we own the necessary land we are hoping for funding to come to complete Primary 3,4,5,6.

It will be a two story building with 4 rooms down and 4 rooms up.

There will be two rooms for each grade. Want to make a difference? Help build a school in Urukundo Village.