Happy New Year!

I know that is the appropriate greeting for a New Year!  We are stepping into 2014 with courage and conviction.

January started with a New Year's celebration. I must admit I stopped in for just a few minutes. I was quite sure 2014 would come in without my help. There was sumbosa and Fanta and the older kids invited friends to come to Hope House for food, Music, very loud music and dancing. The friends then spent the night and had breakfast in the morning before heading home. It was something special for the kids.

Getting ready for the party

Walk with me through happenings in 2013

2013 was an awesome year for Urukundo Home and Learning Center. Briefly here are a few highlights of our  accomplishments in 2013 and our goals for 2014.

Getting Ready for the Party.

#1

3 new children come to our family in 2013.

Jacob arrived as a day-old baby boy.

This is Jacob today. He is one year old, and is walking. He has just had his birthday and is a beautiful boy.

Kaboss was a 3 year old in need of a home and love.

Kaboss now. He attends Preschool and loves it.

Jenett arrived as a one-day-old baby girl.

Jenett - now a 3 month old! Smiling, responding to voices and making baby sounds. She is a love.

We have and are supporting with the help of our sponsors in Urukundo Home for Children:

25 Secondary Students

9 Primary

5 Preschool

6 Kindergarden

5 in Nursery under 3 years.

#2. Urukundo Employees

39 full time workers from the community (this includes guards, mamas, farm help, teachers and 5 part-time for agriculture (planting and harvesting).

#3. Urukundo Learning Center

2 classrooms for Primary 2 and a music room completed and in operation.

Furniture built and delivered.

Music & Arts & Crafts classroom.

We invite teachers with a love of art and music to come and volunteer at Urukundo and lend their talents to our teachers and begin the development of a program for our students. If you love a challenge this will be right up your alley! Come to Urukundo enjoy the children, and become a valued member of our learning team at the ULC. 

Classroom #1

Classroom #2

Urukundo Foundation Education Fund

We have successfully sent 329 students through Primary School. This was a 6 year project started in 2007. This gift was to provide uniforms, shoes, exercise books, pens, jackets and school fees. It included children from neighboring communities. My thanks to all who made this project a success. This funding of $15 per student per year took place at the end of each year.

It is my hope you will continue this gift giving as support for students in our community who need assistance attending school. Education is essential! We are caring for the needs of 35 students in the public school and 45 children from poor circumstances who attend our school and pay no tuition and are helped by this fund. We also have 197 children who pay partial tuition. Your help is needed to allow us to continue this support for education and for our school to grow.

At present we have 3 Preschool classes with 88 students who attend in the mornings.

3 Kindergarten classes with 69 students who attend in the afternoons.

2 Primary one class rooms educating 60 students.

Library

2 Primary 2 classrooms with 58 students.

A Music and Arts Department.

This number will increase each year as new student enrollment numbers increase.

The number of children we can educate is unlimited but we need to add classrooms! Our need is great.

Adult Classes

Sewing Enterprise

We hope these two Projects will be the beginning of our technical school.

The Sewing Center is a teaching program. The center makes uniforms for our school and other schools in the area. It also makes products to be sold. Aprons, bags for every purpose, dresses, shirts and skirts. This is a source of revenue.

For the Community

Exercise classes evenings three times a week for the community in Hope House.

English as a second Language.

3 classes, 3 levels. Our teachers are unpaid volunteers.

Dental Teaching Center

This project is just beginning - more details as it progresses!

The Dental Center will be a teaching program and will offer education to the children and their parents on the value of good dental hygiene.

The Center will work with our school, our home and poor children in the community. In the beginning stages we have a used chair and a light. We need everything else. Two dentistry personnel from Kabgayi Dental Clinic are heading this project for Urukundo. More equipment is needed.

Education Mission outside our Home

We have GRADUATED 4 students (former employees) with bachelor’s degrees from Universities in Rwanda.

Mary Claire Nishimwe      Butare National University graduated 2010

Diane Mupfasoni      SFB (School of Finance and Banking) graduated 2011

Etienne Sentore      KIST (Kigali Institute of Science and Technology) graduated 2013

Juliette Musabyemariya      SFB graduated 2013

Both Etienne and Juliette have returned and work for Urukundo at a very low wage. We appreciate their dedication.

University Students from staff now working for their Bachelors.

Sponsored:

Emanuel Gatera    Year 4  KIU Kigali Independent University

Jolly Kahogoear      3 SFB School Finance Banking

Jean Marie Ntweri      Year 2 Catholic University of Rwanda

If you have a desire to help others seeking higher education please contact me (Arlene Brown at arlene@hopemadereal.org>) for more information on how you can help.

Education from Preschool to University is our hope for the future and you can be a part of this project.

Playtime for the Kids

Legos still the best.
This Inside Tent given to the kids for Christmas is perfect for Legos. With the floor inside the tent even the tiniest Legos do not get away Luki inside the tent building a castle.

Emanuel, Kenny & Kenilla admiring their work.

From the very simple to the most difficult, the kids are mastering them all.

The Farm

Our gardens and the animals are helping feed our children and provide nutrition for our school children.  We also have produce to sell to the community - vegetables, milk & eggs.

Here's our January 2014 farmyard inventory:

2 milk cows & 2 calves.

1 male pig.

1 pregnant sow.

1 new mother with 9 piglets.

1 young sow.

We have 64 rabbits producing. These are used for food and are sold to buyers.

The chicken project is awesome!

The last big chicken house is completed. A septic system is in place, a chicken tiller and our incubator are successful.

We have:

Layers- 200 for eggs production.

Broilers- 300  2 1/2 month old.

Chicks- 300 month old and 300 baby chicks.

It is our goal to purchase 200 day old chicks and to sell 200 full grown Broilers each month. 

Our broilers are sold to hotels and restaurants. After 3 ½ months.

Another source of Revenue.  We are trying to help ourselves. It is all a learning process.

Projections for 2014

How you can help make the Hope Real

1.  Establishing a day care for children under three for parents who work.  With only two babies in our nursery it is perfect timing for the start up of a Daycare.

We have all the equipment needed. 

2.  We hope to add at least classrooms for third grade.  Two classrooms need to be ready by January 2015.  You can help make this happen. Gifts can be sent earmarked for Primary 3 school project 2015.  Become a part of this worthwhile project. 

Note from me

I hope this gives you an idea of what you Urukundo's friends and family are a part of and what a difference you are making in the lives  of the children and families in South Province, Rwanda. 

Thank you.

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.

Greetings from Mama Arlene and the Urukundo Kids for December 2013

December has been a month of memories. I am not sure how Facebook works but it does work. My birthday was filled with many surprises as I heard from so many wonderful people in my life and in the life of Urukundo and its special kids.

The birthday gifts for me that were sent to Hope Made Real were the perfect gift. Thank you. How to choose what to put in this newsletter is going to be difficult.

Kevin my first son in Rwanda ( 2006) adopted me and I adopted him. It was a mutual love relationship that has not changed with time.Solange, my precious girl, is now living in Texas and going to University. She is such a blessing and I am so proud of her. I miss them both at Urukundo but I know children grow up and move on. Having them wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY was a bonus in counting my blessings.

A trip on a bus to Kigali. How exciting.  It was all the kids talked about a week before the trip.  Most of our kids had not been out of our home village and Kigali proved to be as exciting as they thought. So many cars, and people and big buildings and police and soldiers and big buses. Little eyes could not take it all in.

The bus trip was only the beginning of this Christmas event.

The Green Hills Nursery had decided to honor Urukundo Home and Learning Center by making our kids "SECRET FRIENDS"  for their kids. Staff, parents and children participated to make our Christmas. The children at GHA were as excited as our kids to finally meet their secret friends. They shared play time and exchanged gifts and had lunch together.

It was a wonderful day.  Green Hills Academy furnished transportation for this trip. We thank them for the love. 

At devotions that evening our kids thanked God for their new friends at Green Hills Academy and for the many gifts given to them by other children

We were welcomed by Shamira the Principal.

The playground for tots was wonderful.

The Day Care Preschool team.

In the afternoon the Secondary (high school) students presented Urukundo with a check to support our school and home as well as many gifts of clothes, shoes and other necessities.

All the gifts under the tree were for Urukundo.

The whole team from the High School came to see us off.  Lucie, Anitha and I got in the picture.

A very tired but happy bunch of kids are ready to board the bus for the trip home.

Gifts

Each child received a gift. A Christmas tree ornament in the form of the BIRD OF PEACE was presented to our guests.  

On each bird was printed URUKUNDO XMAS 2013.

 

We became so involved in giving we forgot to take pictures of gifts under the tree. These bags were special. Each of our children received a bag with gifts just for them.  We prepared them before the great day arrived as is the custom for Christmas gifts if you are the mum.

This folding reading room was unique as gifts go.

Celebrating our Staff

The second day was a gathering for the staff and their children to let them know how much we appreciate their devotion in cooking, cleaning, teaching, guarding, farming and caring for our children. They also played games had juice and cookies and the children received gifts and the staff a small money gift. This was funded by donations from those who support Urukundo year around.

Hot Potato. When you lose you sit in the middle. It was great fun.

The two finalists. The guy in the red shirt received the prize!

Children of staff in center with our kids.

Christmas Day was for our family and invited guests. We thank Margie and Bruce and their family for providing funds to buy 3 turkey for our meal and for the gifts they brought for the kids. Ice Cream was a special gift from them. The kids had mixed feelings about the ice cream because it was too cold.

Christmas was wonderful but simple and we do thank all who made it possible.

Guests from Denmark. They later sang us a beautiful Christmas carol from their native land.

Maureen and Kyle were part of the celebration.   

Joining us were Erica and Thomas from Sweden.

Bruce, Margie and son in law  Adam. Claudine in back ground.

 

Michelle gets a new baby girl, Iris is not so sure she likes that.

Mama & baby girl weary and ready for rest. Brother Isaac looking on.

THE SENIOR KIDS CHOIR sing Joy to the World & other Christmas songs.

The Christmas Story

If you have never watched  the Christmas Story with little ones under 6 years you have not lived. It was such a grand performance. The actors were the best. Costumes elaborate, directors award winning,

Their rendition of THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY was unforgettable.  The best part is the kids under the direction of Anitha & Tresor did the whole thing by themselves.  I was so pleased.  This was an award winning presentation.   Wise men wait for their cue.

The door at the Inn where there was no room.

Following the star  Mary & Joseph.

The shepherds sing "AWAY IN THE MANGER".

The Wise Men bring gifts.

All sing "ON CHRISTMAS DAY".

  Whole cast and directors sang.   The Little Drummer Boy, Par rum pa pa pa.

Outstanding.  Take it from a pleased mama.