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Greetings from Urukundo for February 2014

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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.


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Urukundo Learning Center

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In February the director and visitors from THE KIGALI SCHOOL OF MUSIC visited our new Music Room at Urukundo Primary School.

The purpose was to see how they might work with Urukundo. We hoped for a program that would benefit both the Music School and Urukundo Learning Center.

Their director was impressed with our music facility. He is very interested in working with us and will set up a program. In the long term, he is considering having his students do an apprenticeship at Urukundo. This would help his school and benefit us. We would supply food and shelter in exchange for a teacher with training preparing for graduation.

This may be a way for us to get qualified teachers in the future.

We could use some financial support to be able to offer this program to his students and to ours.

If you agree with me that Music and Art are universal/ international and should be a part of every program for education you can help make it happen at Urukundo Learning Center. If you want to be a part of giving this gift to the children in Rwanda come on board with a gift to make this program work.

In the short term, a teacher will come once a week to spend the day in our teaching program. We would furnish transport and a meal.

The team comprised of 3 women from Finland and 2 men from Rwanda. The group consisted of a piano teacher, a singing instructor, an opera singer, a recorder player, a guitarist and the Director of the school.

A guitarist who also teaches children how to play and have fun with a recorder, the director of the school and a representative of Crescendo, an international organization. www.cresendo.org

The kids had a great time. Each had an instrument, played and sang along.

Before they left they gave the little ones in our home 3 harmonicas.

The kids loved the noise they made. It was music to their ears but noise to mine!

Kabosi doesn’t quite get it. Wrong end in mouth. We made the correction but I love this picture.

It was a wonderful few hours. We hated to see them go.

 

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Progress Continues

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Saturday February 15 was our start date;

We are stepping out in Faith to accomplish a “Hope Made Real” we have started.

Your help will let us continue. Thank you for making Dental training and Dental care possible at Urukundo Learning Center.

Kenilla having treatment

This month marks the second step toward our goal for a Technical University at the Learning Center.  The first step was the Sewing Center where students learn about machines, sewing, tailoring etc.

Treadle sewing machine

Sewing School Building

The second step is

Rwanda Dental Initiative 2014

It is our goal to have several practical teaching programs when university is not an option. The Sewing Center and the Dental Initiative projects are just the beginning of a future for better health and better technical education for Muhanga District and we hope for all of Rwanda. 

We have seen so many children at our school with mouth problems. If there had been education for the parents at an early age most of the problems could have been avoided. Prevention is so important. There are over 250 children in our school and that is only preschool and Grade 1 and 2. These are community children.

Our program for the Dental Initiative will be to educate the parents, which means a parent must come with their child and be present for the examination and meet the dentist. They will learn how to help their children and in turn help themselves. We can’t just teach the children, we must also educate the parents. 

We will start with the parents of the very young in hopes that instead of taking a small child while teething to a cultural doctor, where the practice is to destroy the teeth below the gum, they will come to Urukundo Dental Program to get help.  

Two young men trained in dentistry are donating their time to Urukundo in hopes of training others in the field  as assistants to the dentist AND they will be working with the Home, school and community to prevent dental problems in the future. This will be a certificate program. Our graduates will be qualified to accept employment as trained personnel for dental programs throughout Rwanda.

Needs for the DENTAL INITIATIVE 

Pressure Cooker for sterilization

  • Composite curing lights
  • Prophy cups & paste
  • Mirrors & Mirror handles
  • Explorers
  • Any tools for cleaning teeth
  • Cotton Rolls
  • Toothbrushes
  • Toothpaste
  • Floss
  • Gifts of cash to purchase a hot plate and a pressure cooker for sterilizing tools
  • Stainless steel containers for holding sterilized tools

***We are starting from scratch.

Our building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spot Lamp & our Dental Chair

Saturday February 15 was our start date; we are stepping out in Faith to accomplish a “Hope Made Real” we have started.

Your help will let us continue. Thank you for making Dental Training and Dental Care possible at Urukundo Learning Center.

Kenilla having treatment.

John Paul having his teeth cleaned.

Screening began this week on the children at our school. Notices were sent home to parents if a problem was detected. Dental work will start on the first 20 patients on Saturday March 1,2014.  Our main problem is the lack of tools for extractions and our urgent need for a sterilizer. Hoping for that.

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Current Events and Progress

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Knowing we must move forward in order for the classrooms for Primary 3 to be ready for January 2015 we are clearing and leveling. Next step is the foundation. The plan calls for a two story building.  It is our HOPE to finish building two rooms each for the next 4 grades in this building. A single two-storey building with four rooms on each floor would save labor, time and construction costs.

“God in charge”

The workers are doing a great job.  Leveling a mountain is definitely hard work.

Looking good!

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.

 

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Happy New Year!

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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.

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Adult Classes

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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.

 

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.

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Projections for 2014

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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.