July Newsletter

Lovely tribute to Urukundo:

Dear Mama, 

I sincerely apologize for such a late follow-up. I was actually sitting in the Paris airport on my way back when I had originally sent this email with pictures, but for some reason it did not send. I wanted to thank you again for such an amazing experience; the love and kindness I received from Urukundo truly reaches beyond borders.

I have shared my experiences with many, and more importantly shared the new values and morals I learned with your community. The experiences I had will last a lifetime, and I am eager to return. I hope all is well. Tell the kids I said hello! And finally here are the pictures that were long promised....

God bless,

Peter

Visitors in July

Urukundo was very happy to welcome Bill Graf and some of his family members. Bill was instrumental in the first land purchase Urukundo made in 2007. That was when we bought land to house our chickens. In a short time, the land became the site of Urukundo Village and Urukundo Learning Center.
Pastor Alexi from the United Methodist Church in Kigali accompanied our guests. The visit was short but so appreciated.
Bill was accompanied by relatives Carolyn Graf from Sarasota, Florida, USA, and Steve Graf from Warner Robins, Georgia, USA.
Breakfast in  Mama’ s home.  

Janette is teaching Carolyn a new dance step
Janette is telling Jacob, “NO, NO don’t dance like that.
Do it like this.”
David is on the drum

Volunteer from England

Charlotte Earl is a student nurse from England with a love for children and a heart of gold.
Charlotte came for 19 days to volunteer at the Urukundo Learning Center. She and the kids connected with love and activities. She was a most welcome volunteer. She advanced our health program at the school, shared devotions in the evening with the home kids and monitored exams at the primary school. She had a busy time while she was with us. Love you, Charlotte. Mama & kids.

Hope Made Real board members visit

In the middle of the month, more volunteers arrived.
Carol Falke and Marilyn Ely are time-honored visitors to Urukundo. Marilyn first came when we were in Kibirige. Carol first came in 2011, and this was her eighth time to spend with us.

Carol is president and Marilyn is treasurer of Hope Made Real, which is our nonprofit 501(c)(3) in the USA.

Marilyn, left, and Carol loved their time with the children.

Marilyn learned new rules to an old game.
Carol and company made books using stickers to decorate the books.
Not only were Carol and Marilyn at Urukundo, but so was Margie Krogh, secretary of Hope Made Real and from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, USA. She’s at left in the first row of the photo.
Imagine three Hope Made Real board members at Urukundo at one time!

We are honored by their presence.

The other two guests in the photo are Latha Bhagavatula, wife of the new director for Carnegie Mellon University-Africa in Kigali and at right in the photo,  and Cheryl Mutabazi, back from Australia, and in the center of the back row.

A special visitor for Carol

This young man from Kigali, Rwanda, is a student at Penn State University, located in Carol’s hometown. He has been kind enough to bring a gift from Carol to Rwanda.

He honored Carol by visiting her at Urukundo Village.

Thank you, Emmy Muhoza.

Rwanda-Buffalo connection

Aimable Twagilimana, a Rwandan living in Buffalo, New York, USA, and a professor at Buffalo State College, paid us a visit. It was another very short visit, but he toured our campus and met the teachers and students here. Thank you, Drew, for suggesting he visit us while he was home visiting his family.

Goodbye to Special Friends

On June 4, Bob and Amy Dove returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, after seven months of living and working with us at Urukundo Learning Center.
Before leaving, a new outfit “made in Muhanga” at the Urukundo Sewing Center needed to be modeled. We like.
The day before they left, Amy read the Scriptures at worship, and Bob gave the sermon. Olive translated.

Sorry to see them go.

Event worth much ado

We were so honored to host the Anne Frank Project out of SUNY Buffalo State in New York, USA. The city of Buffalo is sister city to the city of Muhanga in Rwanda. The project uses drama to help children learn.
This lovely painting was presented to the Urukundo Foundation as a special gift from the group.

The work the visitors did is so interesting and productive and so appreciated. The Anne Frank Project conducted two full days of teacher training in drama-based education at Urukundo Village. About 30 teachers from the Urukundo Learning Center as well as more than 50 teachers from various schools in Muhanga received professional development on how to use storytelling in their classrooms. On a third day, the teachers used it in their own classrooms. The results were outstanding! Plans are underway to define the partnership among the District of Muhunga, Urukundo Village and the SUNY Buffalo State’s Anne Frank Project to make Urukundo a center for innovative teaching and learning.

Here are some pictures from the training for the adults:

The next photo is special for John Latone, Claude's best friend. Claude and John met when the group was here about three years ago.

The kids had fun with the visitors.
Dinner with the kids
Blowing bubbles and relaxing in the front yard at Mama’s house
Claudine and the bubble wand
Always foote ball(soccer)
The Anne Frank Project group presented “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

The storyteller wore the orange-dotted shirt. All did a great job.
The tale includes the chicken who laid the golden egg.
And don’t forget the monster giant.

The children participated in the presentation. All had a wonderful time.
Now there is a new stone on the path. It shows where the heart is.

Visitors

Lauren Wright from South Carolina, USA, first came to Urukundo when she was with the Peace Corps and returned after finishing a degree in nutrition to visit her friends, the village and Urukundo. Love having her.
Lauren and her best friend Benita
Peter Zittel and his mom, Kim Zittel, came the middle of June. Mom stayed for a short time; Peter stayed longer as a volunteer helping out at the preschool. They are from Buffalo, New York, USA. Peter starts university in the fall.
Didn’t get mom’s photo. Sorry, Kim.
Big kids challenge Peter in foote ball (soccer) match.

Come back soon, Lauren, Peter and Kim.