The end of April means sending the big kids off to Boarding School. The “stay at home” younger kids are a big help.
One-year-old Jacob finds a job just his size.
Many hands make a job easy.
Kinella carries necessary supplies.
Gathering the troops.
No more room for a big mattress.
Hmm...how do we solve this problem?
Make it smaller if possible!
Everything fits and is ready to go.
We really will miss these kids. Ok, they come home again in 3 months for a brief holiday!
We are big enough that now we need a Head Teacher! One day we will need a Principal but not yet.
It is our blessing to promote that teacher from inside our staff. The headteacher oversees all programs at the school and attends all District and Sector meetings involving education.
My great pleasure is seeing the children from the community along with our kids returning to school for the second term of the 2014 school year.
New Headteacher Rene welcoming the students.
The first day of school the kids from Urukundo Home were so excited they went to school early and so I missed the pictures. The second morning they waited for me and I am sharing the pictures with you.
Our children from the community come to school on different types of vehicles plus on foot. Here are two of them.
How many of you have a banana tree with bananas on it in your front yard? Well I do. These are the little bananas that taste as sweet as a candy bar. The purple pod at the bottom of the hand is the seed but you do not plant the pod. New trees come up from the root and grow as the bananas ripen. FYI: A banana tree only produces fruit one time and then the tree dies and the shoot takes its place. This process takes two years. Maybe that is more information than you need to know, but I find it interesting and worth telling you about!
AFTER HIGH SCHOOL
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
We at Urukundo through Hope Made Real are trying to set up a fund to help our children who have finished Secondary School and qualify to go on to higher education.
We are seeking Christian families willing to commit to a multi-year annual pledge to support our students’ future education. A fund raiser is also an option. Your church, a Sunday school class, friends and families could participate. With 23 kids in Secondary school we need help.
The first to graduate in 2013 was Tresor who wants to study engineering. His grades have qualified him to apply for the MASTERCARD SCHOLARSHIP AWARD. At present he is going to Bridge 2 Rwanda (www.bridge2rwanda.org) to study for his Toefl and SAT tests. The Teofl program costs $275 USD and the SAT help program is $375. I am hoping with the extra teaching he will be given one of the awards. If so he would then come to the US for study. I will need $3000-$12,000 in a fund for him.
Our future ~ one graduated in 2013, five in 2014, three in 2015, two in 2016, three in 2017, five in 2018 and four in 2019. After that our younger children will be coming along.
If you are interested in holding an event contact Carol Falke falkes@verizon.net / Phone: 814-321-1076. She lives in State College, PA, is a board member for HMR and is Director for Fundraising. Carol is willing to come to your church to share updates about the Urukundo Home and Learning Center focusing on the education program.
I know you love THE KIDS AT URUKUNDO These vulnerable kids have a future because of your care. Please ask yourself WHAT CAN I DO? First, pray for and hold these children in your heart. Then help us plan for their futures.
Our first official sewing class started May 20,2014. Five students enrolled.
These young women have completed Primary School and have no way to go further in education because of the high cost of tuition. Without a skill there is no job available. Urukundo Sewing Center founded and funded by generous supporters in the US and Canada, offers machines to teach sewing and has opened a door that was closed for them.
Read about them below.
Our trainees and trainers:
Thresea, Florida, Jacqueline, Phoibe, Divine, Melonie, Desire
Therese Mukabanany, our teacher for basic sewing, machine maintainance and theory.
Therese had 7 children, but she lost 4 during the genocide and now has 3 in her home. It is important to her that she can educate her remaining children. She was a housewife before starting to sew. With this job she is able to pay school fees for her children and support her family. Her diploma is from ECOLE TECHNIQUE SCHOOL FOR SEWING.
Desire Uwimany teacher for fancy sewing and tailoring, specializing in men’s cloths. He is a father, and had a job tailoring in Kigali but it did not pay well. Desire left that job to come to work at Urukundo. He is pleased because and he said,
“I can pay school fees for my all my children and take care of family."
An opportunity for you to help women and girls to have training in a trade where they can earn an income and provide a better future for themselves and to help their families move out of poverty.
$192 USD will provide tuition for a full year of training. $192 to give a woman or girl a new lease on life. These are persons who are hard workers and want a better future for themselves and others.
Florida is single and has 7 younger brothers and sisters. Before now her life has been cleaning in other peoples homes when she could find the work.
Florida said "Learning to sew will give a job so I can have a better future. I also want to be able to take care of my brothers and & sisters."
Florida hopes to become a teacher.
20 years old, Divine is an orphan with 1 sibling. She stays with a person who wishes her well.
She says: "I will be able tp get a job and support myself. I will stop burdening people with my needs."
Jacqueline Irahuzais, 15 years old, finished primary school at age 12. For 3 years she has prayed for a way to help her family and herself. Her parents are poor and so secondary school was not affordable for her. There is no work available for this young girl. She is so grateful for this opportunity to learn a trade.
With 8 siblings, Phiobe is 16 and has finished primary school with no secondary education in sight due to family poverty. She is unhappy to be at home without anything to do. Her goal is to become a seamstress in time, to own her own machine and have a small business.
Her comment
"I will be able to get a job to support my parents and siblings."
Jacqueline Irahuza - she has 3 siblings and her father is a carpenter. Jacqueline is 15 years old and finished primary school at age 12. For 3 years she has prayed for a way to help her family and herself. Her parents are poor and so secondary school was not affordable for her. There is no work available for this young girl.
"Earning some income is important to me.I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn a trade. I never thought this could happen."
Melanie has 4 siblings, her father is one of guards at Urukundo.
Her thought is: "This is an opportunity for me to be self reliant."
Kira and Rebecca.
Kira is a junior at Penn State University in State College, Pa. Rebecca studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa.
SHORT VISIT
Colin & Heather Ashe. Their children Elizabeth, Brian and Katherine. These are special visitors of Bruce & Margie Krogh from Pittsburgh, Pa.
Bruce & Margie are in Rwanda with Carnagie Mellon Rwanda University and are friends to Urukundo and our kids. We are blessed by their visitors.
The kids had so much fun playing together.
Our children were sad to see them go.
Susan Van Dolsen and her daughter Hannah came to Urukundo in late May. They were the last visitors of the month. While their visit was short, they looked round the Village, Farm, Dental Hut, Sewing Center and Learning Center (school).
Then they had lunch with the children. Their visit was delightful.
Hannah is a graduate of King School, Stamford CT. She was a member of the English department's RWANDA SERVICE CLUB supporting Urukundo since 2009. This was her first visit to Urukundo Village.
April is a very happy month for Urukundo and for me. My kids are home from boarding school and Urukundo village is alive with activity of a different sort. Teenagers do make a distinctive noise!
THE CHILDRENS FARM
Meet Charlie goat and his companion Matilda.
Matilda
Charlie and Matilda are milk producing goats. Well, maybe Charlie doesn’t produce milk but he and Matilda together produce babies and if they are girls they will produce milk. We are moving away from goats for meat only toward goats for milk and milk products. This is new and rather interseting. I did not know there was a difference. I learn something new every day.
Enjoy our newsletter this month, and the updates on our all our education initiatives. It is my hope that many will come on board and help build our school, keep the dental program going and encourage education for needy children in Rwanda. Gifts can be any size. There is no such thing as a small gift. Funds are needed and much appreciated.
You can donate online, or by check to the address below:
HMR
Po Box 3222
Williamsport Pa. 17701
USA
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Mama Arlene
Urukundo Music school has begun. All you musicians take this project to your hearts!
Our teachers are taking an intensive course in theory and instruments at KIGALI SCHOOL OF MUSIC. At the end of the course they will have earned a certificate as music teachers. Your support for this project would be appreciated. Music is an international media to encourage talent, promote sharing with different cultures and it is soothing & healing for troubled souls.
We are pleased with our instruments. We have both traditional
and modern:
Children at Saint Paul’s UMC Sunday School in State College were touched by the children in Rwanda. The children’s time in worship tells of this event. The book GOD'S DREAM by Desmond Tutu was where the idea for the banner came from. The theme is GOD SMILES LIKE A RAINBOW. The colorful rainbow is made by the beautiful handprints of the children and they gifted it to Urukundo.
Kavine holding banner in place.
Our children are making a banner with their hand prints to send to the children in America. It was a delightful Sunday service.
Gardening in Urukundo Village is a bit different, but our volunteers were very interested in agriculture and one of our teachers was game. It is back breaking work but well worth the pain. Well that is my thought but I only watch! Building kitchen gardens requires a certain amount of skill and a lot of back breaking labor.
Tools are make-do using what we have available.
Nothing stopped our volunteers from completing the task!
Nina, and the two Carols hard at work.
Cloth animal feed sacks, 2 foot sticks whittled to a point by Carol Baney, a hammer, a machete or large knife and a desire to play in the dirt are the requirements most needed to build a Kitchen Garden.
Urukundo Childrens Farm took on a new role this month. It was requested that we provide a teaching program for a farmer from a Home For Children in Ruhengeri.
Gardening where the soil is not the best is a problem. Felicitie and our gardener friend took on the project and Aimible came for a two week apprenticeship.
He learned about all the different types of kitchen gardens that can produce vegetables for children.
We hope we taught him well!
Our team meets with Aimable.
This is the first step in getting a MUSIC PROGRAM at Urukundo Learning Center.
One of the instrument instructors, Bonnene. He plays a mean guitar plus other instruments. Guitar is my favorite although I don’t play. My love for this instrument may have to do with the fact that my oldest son Ted plays guitar and has a good voice. His music has always filled my heart.
