The farm at Urukundo announces, “It’s a girl.”
Report on me
I am well and looking forward to more visits and fundraising events before I arrive home June 1. Yes, I am homesick. Miss my kids.
Urukundo is always in my heart. My goal is to complete four more classrooms for the Primary Learning Center and four classrooms for the Sewing Center. Each room will cost about US$25,000.
The Sewing Center is now an accredited technical school and part of the Urukundo Learning Center. More space is required for further expansion. Turning deserving students away because of a lack of space is not acceptable at Urukundo/Hope Made Real.
My next stop is Arizona and Tresor’s graduation from Arizona State University. Tresor has been part of the Urukundo family since he was 12 years old. His major is software engineering, and he graduates with honors from Barrett, The Honors College, at the university.
Update and more news in the May newsletter.
Mama
March 2019 Newsletter
Getting ready
What a transition! Covering all the bases and tying up loose ends seemed to be the theme for the first half of March. I’ve been preparing to be away from my Urukundo family and to be together with my USA family and friends.
Graduates on the move
Our recent high school graduates prepare for life away from Urukundo Village. University is now in their game plan. It takes a truck.
Bosco, Olivier and Abais. Congratulations, gentlemen. Well done.
Bosco and Abais will attend the Adventist University of Central Africa, Kigali campus.
Olivier will attend University of Kigali.
With the addition of these three, we now have quite a few in higher education:
• 22 students are at the university level or beyond.
• 1 is working on her master’s degree in Texas, USA.
• 1 finished college in Seattle, Washington, USA, in 2018. He returned to Rwanda and teaches phys ed at Urukundo Learning Center.
• 1 graduates from Arizona State University, USA, in May 2019.
• 4 have finished university or trade school and are gainfully employed.
• 3 will graduate in fall 2019.
• 5 will graduate in 2020.
• 2 will finish in 2021.
• 3 will graduate in 2023.
• 2 will graduate in 2024.
Our first generation of Urukundo kids are now young men and women. They are well on their way to a brighter future, thanks to you who have cared and shared. I thank you.
Water, water
A new water tank serves two houses.
The blue house is the Sewing Center; light green the girls’ home and Dental Clinic.
This tank allows us to have a better water supply for both houses and to upgrade our bathroom facilities. Such a needed improvement!
Amin gets married
So hard to believe. Our kids are really growing up.
Amin, a new husband, and Marie Claire, his lovely wife, are one happy couple.
Amin is Urukundo’s first brother to get married. Wow!! Can this be true? Yes, it sure is.
My first daughter-in-law in Rwanda! Welcome to the family, Marie Claire. Congratulations, Amin. Be the best husband you can be, and know that you and Marie Claire are in our prayers for a long and happy life together.
Project Library
The project for the month was revamping the library, including adding more educational toys and and supplying more shelf space. Librarian Irene and Olive teamed up with Carol Falke from the USA to make this project a success.
Big question: What belongs in the classroom and what should be in the library available for teachers to borrow and return?
Preschool classrooms also benefited from this project.
Organization was the objective in the library and classrooms.
Preparation before organization
Every 3- and 4-year old enjoys dolls that to play with. Cribs are on the way for these baby dolls. Each preschool classroom will have a crib and hopefully two baby dolls. Never too young to learn about love. With 30 kids in the morning and 30 in the afternoon loving on these baby dolls, they will not last long. But, oh, what fun!
In the library for all to share. African animals to see and read about.
What boy and, yes, girl would not love vehicles of every description? With books to tell the story.
Construction in progress. All ages benefit from the library.
Space travel, futuristic indeed. Carol demonstrates rocket for teachers.
Let's go shopping, Vegetables, fruits, shopping bag, pretend money and a tea set for later. All part of the learning process.
Learning about caterpillars and butterflies was the project for the preschool.
We cover so many aspects of living and sharing.
Photographer visits
Alan Lane visited from North Carolina, USA. Alan is a professional photographer working with
Photographers Without Borders. It was our pleasure to have Alan join us for worship, a tour and lunch with the kids.
Worship
Urukundo kids are in prayer at worship.
The drum is a vital part of our worship as are the many community children who come to worship with us.
Choir director for the community children in action.
Faces
My favorite time in life is watching the precious babies and seeing the many dear faces that mean so much to me.
Thank you, Alan, for sharing your photos with us. Beautiful faces.
In addition to Alan’s photos, here’s another beautiful face. This is Ava Arlene, daughter of executive director Jean Marie and his wife Larrisa. Ava Arlene is my namesake in Rwanda.
And I am so proud of Tresor, our student graduating from Arizona State University in the USA in May.
New in preschool
Kids are getting the full impact of food.
Shopping, vegetables
Cooking aprons and chef’s hats. See the eggs and chickens on the aprons?
Serving. First term in culinary arts. We’re starting them young.
My journey begins
Here it is March 15, and I am in the USA.
Believe it. I slept most of the journey home and was greeted in the USA by friends from Reston, Va. I was taken to breakfast. It’s not unusual for me to have no camera. This time, I left it in Rwanda for assistant Olive to use to send me photos of my kids.
First photo from Olive. My kids waving to me.
Saying “Hello mama.”
Second photo. Love this.
New in Mama’s rock garden.
Awesome!
Here are some kids in my world in the USA. Remember, all under 65 are kids for me.
Thank you friend, Bruce, for sharing. His wife, Margie, took the photo. She’s on the board of Hope Made Real. A wonderful time seeing them, their children, grandchildren and guests at their home in Penn Hills, PA, USA. Hey, how do you like the new haircut???
An evening spent with the Waverly Presbyterian Church mission team from Pittsburgh. Their visit was a memorable one. This one includes our newsletter editor Eleanor standing next to Mama.
It was great to be with this happy group once again.
Happy news
Come join the fun. A gala fundraising event in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28.
Interested??? Contact Mama or Patricia
Emails are arlene@hopemadereal.org and pdbrown@spiritworks.org .
Or phone 412-522-6450.
Can’t be there? Donations can be sent to:
Hope Made Real
P.O. Box 3222
Williamsport, PA 17701
USA