Events

, ,

February Babies

, ,

Having babies and new Mamas were both big news during February!Our baby pigs arrived, 7 at a time.Not to be outdone and ever so much more important.  Juliette, my lovely secretary, gave us a beautiful baby boy in February.

I don’t know how I will get along without her for 6 weeks! That is the mandatory leave time after having a baby. Thank goodness she answers phone calls.

The baby was not due until March so we thought we had time to train someone to work in the office. 

As babies sometimes do, he decided he would come sooner. Juliette came to work not feeling well with discomfort in her lower abdomen. We decided she should go to the Medical Center across the road to be sure she was ok. Being an old hand at having babies, I was pretty sure she was in labor. When she didn’t come back to work it had to be so. Well about 3 hours later Julie sent me a text message I HAVE A BABY BOY.  I was not surprised! Mama and baby are doing just fine and I get to give him his Christian name.  Babies here get three names. I think I will call him Jerry.

First Concert for Urukundo Kids

Nine of our children attended their first Concert. on Feb. 19, 2015.  They were thrilled.We are now associated with Crescendo, an organization from Germany dedicated to bringing music to Rwanda and other parts of the world thanks to Aimable and the Kigali School of Music. The kids heard the music of Beethoven, Mozart as well as Duke Ellington. Martin Heimchen from Germany was guest pianist on a real piano, not a keyboard.

IT WAS AWESOME

Here's the Jazz Band with Grace as soloist, and Dad Lance on the trombone.

It would have been wonderful if we could have taken all the kids to enjoy the concert but our car only holds 9. We decided to take the older kids this time.

Next time we'll take another 9. There will be more concerts I am sure as music plays its part in the growth of Rwanda’s children.The kids were mesmerized.The gentleman sitting behind us with his wife is the Founder of the music organization.

 

, , , ,

February Special News

, , , ,

If hearts sing and love abounds in February, mine is right in tune. Urukundo is so blessed.

We have big news to share! We have a new name for our Dental Initiative.
 
University of Rwanda College of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Dentistry and Urukundo Dental.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Document signing, sealed with a handshake.

A delegation of 7 came to Urukundo Village from the University School of Dentistry to take part in the signing ceremony making Urukundo Dental Initiative part of the School of Dentistry.

 

Muhumuza Ibra - Dean, School of Dentistry - University of Rwanda College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Karl Self - University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and Donna.


Sawsan Salih - Associate to the Dean of the School of Dentistry, Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Valli Meeks - University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
Valli is from Philadelphia, PA. She is definitely a HOME GIRL for me - same accent!

Valli, Sawsan and Karl are part of the United States faculty working with the Rwanda Human Resources for Health Project.
 
(l-r) Ethel, Mama Arlene, Julienne, Valli
Ethel and Julienne are instructors at the University School of Dentistry.
Summary of the MOU
This is a brief summary of how it will operate.

The school will pay for food and housing only for their students and instructor.  There is no large financial gain for Urukundo from the school but there will be recognition and the connection with the University giving us creditability. We are a fully equipped Dental Clinic in operation. We purchase our own supplies and have our volunteer clinic staff. The University will supply the guidelines to ensure we conform with government regulations. They will also respond to any urgent needs.

We can do our own charging for services. For difficult cases, we can send the client to the Dental Hospital at the University and the cost will not change for our patients. This will give them access to dental services they could otherwise not afford. Also our dental service can now advertise and be open Monday through Saturday noon. This will give us many more clients. Our clients pay a minimum charge for consultation and depending on the service needed the cost will be determined by what the client can afford. Some will be free and others will pay a reasonable cost. We hope in that way to give good service and to pay for needed supplies.

We are operating under the University license. This is an important contribution from the School of Dentistry. There will be 6 to 10 students coming for clinical training each month on a two-week rotation program and an instructor coming with them.

This is a very important step for Urukundo.  It also helps our standing in the district.  It should be very interesting. I am sure there will be changes as we move forward. We are a pilot program for the University. If our relationship is successful the University will expand the program to other areas of Rwanda using Urukundo as the model.

Greetings from Urukundo Village for January 2015

Hello everyone. Happy New Year from Urukundo Kids, Staff and Mama Arlene.

The news is I am coming to the US for a visit with Urukundo’s support friends and family and my kids. It is great coming home without a medical reason.

I arrive in the states April 1. This is no April Fool's joke! I really am coming.

I plan to return to Urukundo Village, Rwanda on June 9, 2015.

The contact person for scheduling stops for the trip is Patricia D. Brown: pdbrown@spiritworks.org

Please contact her for information.

I do hope to see many of you and share the story of Urukundo (Story of Love).

Because we sent the December newsletter a bit early, here are a few photos from last month's COMMUNITY & STAFF PARTY

Staff children watched a movie, had juice and Biscuits and received a small gift.

, ,

Exciting Connection with Global Engagement Foundation

, ,

Thanks to Michael Grosspietsch and Melissa Lesage URUKUNDO LEARNING CENTER was added to their already full schedule. It was a new experience for our teachers.

We thank them for finding a bit of time for Urukundo. They have been a long time source of encouragement.

Global Engagement Foundation was established to better serve the world. To learn more about this organization check out their website.

Buffalo University out of New York State, USA came to Urukundo

Drew Kahn - Professor, Theater and Director, Anne Frank Project

SUNY Buffalo State

Annefrankproject.com

Professor Drew Kahn, the Head of the Drama Studies program and 6 of his young students spent about 3 hours at Urukundo. What a wonderful 3 hours that was.

The impact they had on our teachers was evident.  The teachers saw, heard and learned the value of drama in teaching children.

Their purpose:

Teaching storytelling skills to Rwandan teachers

The theme for this presentation was survival, caring and sharing based on the Diary of Anne Frank.

Who knew the equation 2 + 2 = 4 could be so much fun when acted out. 

Yes even Math can be fun if a little imagination is added to the mix.

Our new House of the Arts was the perfect setting for this project. Design and decorations were done by two of our girls, Anitha and Belise. Great job girls!

Teachers focus on the story.

After the teaching session the visitors joined the children in the Boys' Home.

, ,

Another Celebration

, ,

Preview: Uncle's graduation gown for the kids to see. December 12 is graduation.

Two days later. The real thing.  Congratulations Emmy (Uncle).

An event to remember!

Emmanuel is the sixth member of our staff Urukundo has supported with tuition and expense money to attend University and achieve their Bachelors degree. There are three more attending University now with full support. We are so blessed to have donors who find supporting education a good way for charitable giving. Gifts to HMR’s Education Fund for Higher Education are not only a blessing to Urukundo but are  tax deductible. We are a 501(C)3 charity. And what better way to ensure that Urukundo will continue after you are no longer here to send your gift each month, than to make provision in your Will. If you are like me, then you want to know where your assets are going before you go to your reward.