Time for cake

Mistakes are edible.
We ordered a cake from a shop in Kigali. The cake was delicious.

However, the writing on the cake had a mistake. It should have said, “New Family
Meredith, Alex & David.” Instead, it said,  “New Family Marydith, David.” Alex didn’t make it to the top of the cake.

We did not have time to do the icing over, so there were no changes.The ice cream was melting. Sorry, Alex. We love you -- Mama, kids and especially David.

Meredith Lu first came to Rwanda more than eight years ago with the Peace Corps and has been David’s sponsor since he was a baby. She since has graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. The newcomer to the family is Alex Nachis. Meredith and Alex visited Urukundo in 2017 so he could meet David. The cake celebrated their wedding on June 16, 2018.

Ice cream, cake and Fanta
Baby Jenny licked the bowl clean.

Adult English classes

So proud of Urukundo staff and volunteer Amy Dove!  Here’s the first adult English as a second language class -- with certificates to prove it.

Pastor Yves, Amy, Delphine (home manager), Olive (children and family advocate),

Juliette (human resources), Chantal (day care supervisor), Ismail (dental receptionist) and Libby (manager for cleaners). Good job; well done all. Thank you, Amy.

Xavier (driver), Chantal (cleaner), Florida (cleaner), Amy,  Adelphine (mama), Francoise (mama), Libereta (cleaner), Clarisse (day care) and Josephine (day care).

We thank Amy Dove, Sewing Center students and Sewing Center teachers (Therese, Redumptus and Desire) for their participation in English class and finishing the first module of 30 hours in their curriculum.

Lovely explanation

The wedding of Betty, who is the main caregiver in the boys’ house, and Etienne was lovely. Weddings in Rwanda are interesting.

Everything is rented: the wedding gown, bridesmaids’ clothes, groom’s clothes, groomsmen's suits, decorations, tents for guests. Just everything, but it keeps the cost down, and the wedding can be lovely.

All of the invited guests contribute what little money they have before the wedding to help the bride and groom rent what they need. Depending on the generosity of friends and family, even the very poor can have a simple but pretty wedding.

It makes a lot of sense to me, especially in a country where jobs are scarce and money hard to come by.

It is amazing how friends and families support each other in Rwanda. Would that it were the same in the USA and other countries. The cost of a nice wedding in the USA would support a family in Rwanda for several years. The bride’s gown alone would more than pay for a whole wedding here.

When you accept an invitation to a wedding, you give a gift to help with the cost. Neat idea, and it works.

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.

Beautiful country.

Beautiful people from many walks of life come together in unity and love at Urukundo.

Newest graduate

Giselle, our latest graduate from secondary school, will start University of Tourism, Technology and Business in May. Congratulations, Giselle!

This will give us 13 attending university. I am so grateful to all sponsors and those who donate for higher education. Without you, this would not be possible.

Karate winners

Football is not our only sport. We are very proud of our karate team. The team went to its first competition. They were the winners.

We recognize their Master Eugene Iyamuremye. Eugene gives freely of his time every Saturday morning to train the team. Eugene also is doing a good job as our farm manager.

We have many at Urukundo who wears many hats. Thank you, Eugene, for teaching karate at Urukundo along with your duties at the farm.

You are special.

Blessed events

All 38 of our women on staff, Mama and volunteer Amy honored Betty, the mama in charge at the boys house, with a bridal shower. It was the first event of its kind at Urukundo. Her wedding will take place March 31. The Urukundo kids and mama are invited and will attend. Pictures will be in April's newsletter.
Executive Director Jean Marie, his wife Larissa and new big sister Lana welcome a new baby girl into their world.