Valentine’s Day is a time when people show feelings of love, affection and friendship. Every day should be such a day.
Children give love freely, and they hope for love in return. Hug a kid this month and every month. Share love with a child.
The rewards are beyond belief.
Be my Valentine.
Mama Arlene
New Year’s thoughts
A gentle reminder as you begin the New Year:
Having a goal and striving to reach it is a must.
Every child deserves the opportunity to set such a goal.
Providing education is a step in the right direction.
Help give hope where hope is essential.
Mama
January 2020 Newsletter
From the Urukundo Foundation and Urukundo Learning Center, Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Morning exercise for preschool
Check out the new video.
A new month and a new year. I am told that because it is an even year, it will be a good year. Superstition, and I am not sure I agree, but it sure is a good thought.
The year 2019 was a good year, and it was not an even year. Urukundo accomplished a lot.
Student progress
Here are the numbers:
• 140 entered preschool baby class.
• 122 kindergarten children moved into the primary class.
• 62 children graduated from Primary 6 and entered S1 (junior high).This is the start of the first three years of secondary school.
• 4 students graduated from universities: Tresor, Divine, Alexander and Lilliane.
Improvements on the Urukundo campus
We had many improvements in the last year.
Communications
A big improvement was Wi-Fi was installed to cover the school, dental clinic and all of Urukundo Village. The village includes the business offices, farm office, pastor’s office, guest houses and Mama’s house
Protection
Lightning arrestors were installed on the school grounds, including the play area and the entire campus.
The football (soccer) field was filled and leveled, making it a safer play area for the school children.
Transportation
A second big school bus was purchased in January 2019. With earned income from the buses, we now have enough to purchase a third big bus. We have sold the minibus and are applying that money to the purchase of the third big bus. The minibus is too small for the number of children needing transportation at this time. It was a great starter bus, but it has outlived its purpose. Not enough seats.
Good looking bus. In service on January 29, 2020.
It is good to know the profit from the vehicles improves our ability to supply safe transportation for more children.
Sewing Center
Twenty-four sewing machines were purchased and added to the Urukundo Sewing Center.
A classroom large enough for the Sewing Center was built and desk-chair combinations were purchased for student use.
Library
A new extension was added to the school library.
The library now has space, tables, chairs and electrical outlets for computer classes and can accommodate older children and adults.
Yes, it was a very good year.
New school year
Our teachers are very brave. Imagine 120 three-year-olds leaving their mothers for the first time. Chaos for sure. The parents are allowed to enter the classroom with the child for the first three days. After that, they bring the student to the gate, and the teachers take them to class from there.
One week later, I took photos. The kids adjust better than the parents.They are waiting for uniforms sewn by Urukundo Sewing Center.
Not yet happy, but not crying. That is progress.
Laughing or crying, I am not sure, but a friend to hug is always comforting.
Uniforms are being made and soon will be given out.
Beginners are in baby class. They are 3-year-olds. Yep, they are babies, but don’t tell them that.
This group is only one of three classrooms of our middle class. Sports uniforms and so grown up. What a difference a year makes!
Auditorium expansion
Urukundo Learning Center needs an auditorium where all students can gather for assemblies and special events. Building an auditorium will be an expensive proposition and will take a long time, but slowly by slowly we will succeed. We do need a building with a larger capacity. Staying with the concept of using what we have and improving it makes Hope House our best option.
When we constructed Hope House in 2009, it was a big building. At the time, it really was and met our needs. I had not visualized the growth that would take place at Urukundo in 10 years.
Renting larger facilities for parent/teacher meetings and other school activities proved costly. Turning away income-producing community meetings, celebrations and weddings because the building did not have enough capacity was an indication it would be beneficial to provide a larger building.
The need for an auditorium became even more apparent in 2019 when the number of community children participating in the Christmas celebration filled a second building.
Looking at possibilities of expansion at a reasonable cost, expanding Hope House seems the most doable. The unused land is there. We are doing the clearing and leveling work. We are looking to the future with hope.
It is possible to add an addition not only at the front but also at the end of the building. Both areas are in the process of being prepared for possible construction. The Urukundo National Board of Directors has asked for three bids from local contractors. Growth is inevitable. Sustainability is the ultimate goal. Funding would be helpful and appreciated.
Good News
Dorcas is recovering! Brave girl.
For you who do not know, Dorcas’s home was caught in a mudslide after heavy rain in Muhanga, causing it to collapse. Dorcas was crushed beneath the falling mud brick wall. These building bricks weigh 40 pounds each. A little girl nearly lost her life. She has fought back.
From this in October 2019
To this in January 2020
Dorcas and her walking stick
She is back. Here she is entering the school gate. We applaud her. I thank all of you who joined Urukundo in prayer.
I also heard some good news about Diescor, who has made additional progress at a rehabilitation hospital in the USA. He now can walk short distances on his own with a cane, is saying new words everyday and is gaining some movement in his upper arm. He is doing well enough that he has been discharged to outpatient therapy. He made a special point to send his love and a "hi" to the kids.
Urukundo Worship Center
A donor blessed us with funding to purchase Bibles for our community youth graduating from Primary 6. Having a Bible to take with them as they leave home for the first time is the perfect tool to help them along the way. The Bibles are of good quality and with a hard cover. They are in the Kinyarwanda language.
Pastor Yves placed in the Bible the name of the child, the date and reason for the gift (graduation). Some time later, he also signed the Bibles for those baptized.
These seven beautiful people accepted Christ as their personal savior, were baptized and received a Bible with their name and date of baptism on the inside cover.
The older gentleman said, “I am happy to have a Bible even though I can’t read. Maybe I will learn to read.” I wish him the best as from experience I know learning a new language is harder to accomplish as you get older.
We are so pleased. Pastor got a hardly used new suit.
He sure looks handsome. It is a good color. Blue.
Everyone knows that is Mama’s favorite color.
Visitor
This lovely lady visited us from Loughborough, Leics, UK.
Jane Spencer is a project manager at Loughborough University. She is a lady of distinction because she is good friends with one of our international board members, Louise Medland, and lives just down the street from her.
Jane braved a rainstorm to travel from Kigali to Muhanga to spend the day at Urukundo.
December 2019 Newsletter
Another birthday
December, what a month!
First, I want to thank everyone who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. Really, 89 birthdays seem like a lot, but I am looking forward to my 90th birthday. Thank you all.
One of my birthday wishes was a love letter. I received this card, beautiful message and flowers from Johnny, my flower child for many years. Johnny always has given me flowers since he was old enough to walk to my garden and pick the best blooms. Johnny is now known as John, his choice because he is growing up. John is in Primary 6. He lives with Josephine, his foster mother and our day care employee. We meet his expenses, thanks to his support person. He brought the flowers to me with his heart in his eyes. What greater love could I wish for!
John
The flowers.
Urukundo’s purpose
Urukundo decided that, because of a lack of necessary funding, construction on the school would stop at least for now. It seemed like a good idea. It was for Urukundo but not for a community in need.
There is more than one way to be a good neighbor and part of the community. Need is always present, and charity is not wanted. People want to work and earn some money, especially at Christmastime.
What could Urukundo do to help? Our field needed to be cleared and leveled. That would benefit our Learning Center and the community.
Thanks to faithful donors, we were able to have a work day, and 17 families with no income earned a little money. Their children’s Christmas was brighter. Food is essential.
Now Urukundo has land cleared for the next project in our future. That project is construction of four more classrooms needed for the primary school.
We are blessed, and it is so important we pass the blessing along. Hope you all had a great Christmas.
Dorcus improving
Good news. Dorcus, a fourth-grade student at the Urukundo Learning Center, came home from the hospital this week.
She is weak and was unable to attend Urukundo's community Christmas party.
Urukundo Learning Center headmaster Irene Dushimimana and my home manager Libby took Christmas to her. Libby is her neighbor in the village and has kept us current on Dorcus’s condition.
Dorcus was injured in a serious freak accident at her home in a mudslide caused by a severe rainstorm in October. She is trying to walk. With support around her waist and someone holding her hand, she has taken a few steps.