Our Master of Ceremonies was Remy Paul Dushime, teacher of English.
The Headmaster of Urukundo Learning Center, Irene Dushimana.
The Vice President of the Parent-Teacher committee, Dilexi Birasa Aloys.
Our Guest of Honor was Valerie D Mukamutari, Exective Secretary of the Cyeza Sector.
Mama with Olive translating.
The speakers for Kindergarten Talia Ruremesha and Hope Bertha Isingizwe.
Talia gives Mama a hug.
The Cultural Dancing Club.
The girls in the National Cultural Dance group put on a great show!
The boys in the National Cultural Dance group.
Backing singers for the Cultural Dance group.
The Precision Marching group.
More marching.
French club.
Benita receiving her certificate.
Emily receives her certificate. She’s now in Primary 1.
Jacob almost lost his hat but hangs on to his certificate!
Kindergarten.
Sewing Center. Certificates for all. So proud of them.
Although P6 graduated from Urukundo Learning Center, they will receive their certificates after the results of the National Exams.
Some of the non-graduating students who are participating in the graduation ceremony.
In loving memory of Tom Nunnally, our benefactor and the thinker, who envisioned a school for sewing at Urukundo Learning Center.
Each year in Tom’s memory, Forest Hills Rotary in Pittsburgh, PA awards a sewing machine to the most outstanding student the class, to help that person start up his or her own business.
Tom’s wife Carolyn also chose to present each graduate with a kit of basic tools needed to work as a sewer. Tom’s Legacy at Urukundo will live on.
Displaying the award: Theresa, Head of the Sewing School along with teacher Redemptus Nderendebe, the tailoring teacher Desire Uwimana, and Laurien Sebomana, honored guest from Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
This year’s award went to Teddy Uwurukundo and is presented to him by Madam Valerie Mukamutare, the Executive Secretary of the District, and by Redemptus Nderendebe, a teacher at the Sewing Center.
The manager of the sewing project presents certificates.
The certificates and sewing starter kits were such precious gifts.
Special awards given to outstanding Primary and Preschool students.
The parent of the year award was presented to Celestin Ndayiziga. This award was given to the parent who was most active and helpful to the teachers and in the Learning Center.
Special guests were interns from GO ED. The girls lived and volunteered at Urukundo for a month.
Jean Marie, Juliette, Olive, Theresa & Erneste join graduates for photo.
Remembrance photo. Next year we will have risers. Our Primary 6 kids are as tall as the students in the Sewing Center so only the hats of those students are visible. Live and Learn.
Happy Face of a special girl. She has been #1 in her class since Kindergarten. Congratulations Delice Nishimwe.
I hope you have enjoyed the photos of the graduation as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
Thank you.
Mama Arlene
I am a great-great-gram. She is the first.
She is a cutie.
Name: Raelyn
Great-grandfather is my oldest son Ted.
If you recall from past history, I am mother of five, grandmother of 17, great-gram of 26 and now great-great-gram of one.
How blessed can one woman be?
Irene Dushimimana, headmaster at Urukundo Learning Center, received his master’s degree in education.
It is not easy to work full-time at the Learning Center and go to university on weekends, but that is what he did. His reward is graduation and a Master’s in education. We are the winner for we have an outstanding headmaster at Urukundo Foundation.
Oliver Kansiime, chief dental hygienist at Urukundo Dental Clinic, received her bachelor’s degree in business management.
Hard work, perseverance and dedication have been the key to reaching her goal. Congratulations, Oliver. We are so very proud of you.
Weddings in Rwanda are fun -- especially if they are on our basketball court. Short walk to get there. Francois, who is one of Urukundo’s mamas in the boys’ house, invited our volunteers and mama to her daughter’s wedding. Tents were rented and erected, music played, ceremony took place and delicious food was served to the guests.
Sarah, myself and Anna dressed to the nines and attended the wedding.
The bride was beautiful. The groom handsome. 
The colorful decorations were breathtaking.
The day was fun.
After 18 months in Seattle, Washington, USA, John Paul was finally coming home. His plane was due in Kigali at 3:10 pm. Wonderful. No, not so wonderful. John Paul’s homecoming had a few problems.
His flight from Seattle to Doha, Qatar, was delayed six hours, causing him to miss the flight from Doha to Kigali. Time was made up, and he was just two hours late getting to Kigali. So he still could be home in time for devotions with the kids and a photo. But that didn’t happen. There was an accident on the road from Kigali to home, and traffic was stopped for hours.
The kids waited until after 8:30 p.m.; then it was off to bed. JP arrived after 10 p.m. with only Mom to say welcome and no photo. We still needed a photo with him home and the kids loving him. The children are so happy he is home to stay. Big brothers are precious here at the Urukundo Home.
Our university students came home in July to celebrate the birthdays of their sister Anitha, also a university student, and all of the children with birthdays in the previous three months and the next three months. Hey, that is how you do birthdays when you have 52 kids.
From left, Lilliane, Divine and Esperance.
Visitors Naomi Brooks from Melbourne, Australia, and Charlotte Earl from England joined staff member Olive and university students Divine and Esperance in a balloon fest. So delightful!
