A mama had a baby boy via a Caesarean and is still in the hospital. The papa came to ask for clothes for his newborn son. Libby made up the gift and is giving that gift to the father to be taken to the mama and baby boy. Congratulations to both Mama and Papa.
May visitor
Visitor Hannah-Nicole Crombie – better known as Nicole by our kids – is from Scotland and volunteered at Urukundo for two wonderful weeks with special art projects.
This one was awesome. The kids cut out their masks, decorated them and went around scaring everyone.
Such fun.
Nicole with one of her art projects with preschoolers.
Nicole’s Aunt Terri made and sent flowers for the Urukundo kids.
The children loved the colorful flowers and could pick their favorite color.
Thank you, Aunt Terri. Love you, Nicole.
Nicole also was on hand to meet a new mama and baby on Urukundo’s front porch.
Sad to say goodbye
Saying goodbye as Kyle Jerro returns to his home base in the United Kingdom was hard for him and the kids. Kyle was on his seventh visit and is a member of the Hope Made Real International Board of Directors.
More on Mama and Baby Project
Urukundo’s Mama and Baby Project was so pleased to get a new supply of newborn items from friends in Pennsylvania, USA. They reached us via a suitcase carried by a Rwandan student who was returning home from Penn State University. The items are so needed. We even received hand-knit baby sweaters and hats. So much love!
Other wonderful gifts to us are the reusable nylon bags from ChicoBag, which has given us 100 bags each year for the last four years.They are gifts that keep on giving and are used by the mamas after they are home. They serve many purposes.
April Newsletter
April marks a time of national mourning and remembrance of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. It’s a stark reminder of the pain of the past, but it also throws into sharp relief what Rwanda is today – a beautiful, safe and peaceful country full of hard-working and enterprising people who are building their nation for the better.
Please pray for continued national unity, healing and reconciliation.
A wedding!
On March 31, we attended a very special wedding.
Auntie Betty married Etienne. The wedding was simply lovely.
The Urukundo kids sat at the feet of the bride and groom.
A special baby
Naming a newborn is a big event in a family in the Rwandan culture.
Executive director Jean Marie presented me with his new baby daughter. I am honored to hold the child of Jean Marie and his wife Larissa. The baby’s name is Ntwali Ava Kayla Luana Arleen.
The family name is first. She will be called Ava.
Primary 4 kids learn chess
Volunteer Bob Dove is doing a great job while he is here with us. Along with his other projects, he is teaching four of our Primary 4 kids to play chess.
Sarah, Johnny, Agide and Claude are having fun learning.
Sarah gets some one-on-one instruction from the master teacher.
Puppeteers
Kasperie and friends -- hand puppets from Germany -- are popular with the kids.
Kasperie introduced by Angelique Westmark from Germany two years ago. The children love the puppet and his animal friends. They follow the stories that came with Kasperie and make up stories of their own.
Kasperie is the puppet in yellow and green.
Sarah with Tiger
Luki with Giraffe
News from Urukundo Home for Children
School in session
School is back in session for the second term. There are three terms in each school year. The kids are ready and excited. You can see that in these photos, taken the first day of the second term.
P6 kids went to school an hour earlier, so Claude, Luki and Aline are not in the photo.
Claude Luki and Aline.
Word of the month: respect
We learn, discuss and practice.
The farm and the rains
Rain, rain and more rain -- and the walls at the farm came tumbling down.
Stones and bricks can build them up.
And the chickens will be safe.
Hard to believe, but the norm here is a cycle of three months of wet and three months of dry weather.
We are experiencing the eighth month of rain. Not sure when it will stop. This is nature playing tricks on Rwanda and possibly all of Africa. Our prayer is that eight months of dry does not follow.
Pastor Yves’ property shows major damage after heavy rain destroyed his walls and buildings.
The home of Libby, our cleaner manager and my house worker, is in shambles because of the rain. Then, the next day after the damage, her toilet was destroyed. Still, she comes to work smiling. Still, it rains and it’s very heavy rain. The people suffer.
Too much rain on our mountain, and homes are destroyed and people die. Except for retaining walls built in our early years, we do not use mud bricks. So our buildings and walls are safe compared to homes of the very poor.