In case you have forgotten, Divine Uwonkunda has not given up her dream and her goal to be a pilot. I found this book in our Urukundo library, and it made me remember this girl and her ambition. If you want more information, please feel free to contact me. arlene@hopemadereal.org
Let's make it happen. Another Hope Made Real.
Photo dedicated to Divine and her dream.
Introducing the newest member of the Urukundo family:
Her name is Anitha Inyange. Anitha and her husband have a six-month baby boy and live in Muhanga. It is necessary we have a certified teacher with a diploma in early childhood education as the manager for our daycare. At present with the daycare closed because of the coronavirus, Anitha is working with Soso and Claudine, helping them to stay prepared for the school opening in September.
In an earlier newsletter, I shared the need for bricks to build two classrooms. The response was awesome. Thank you to all who helped to purchase bricks. Funds came in to buy not only the needed bricks but also to complete building the two classrooms.
Work began at once. Although the classrooms were not expected to be finished soon, the donations for building the classrooms were more than enough for bricks, and we went ahead and finished the two classrooms. Never dreaming the coronavirus would happen and funding would be a bit scarce.The mandated shutdown took place March 21, but the sector allowed Urukundo to finish building using only two workers from the community on the site at a time. Keeping social distancing.
It took until the end of April to finish the project.
Two new classrooms finished and ready for the start of school. The computer lab now will have a home base. The second room is to reduce the number of children per classroom. We try to keep the number in a classroom to no more than 30 children.
Thank you all for the gifts that made this possible.
It is my great pleasure to thank and honor our donors who made it possible for us to maintain salaries for our teachers and other staff not working, care for our university students, and provide basics for the entire campus. Internal income stopped when the stay-at-home directive became a reality. Thanks to so many of you, we have in reserve funding enough to cover expenses until September. Those funds are secure. Any additional funds will be used for unexpected expenses and construction of the two additional classrooms needed for the influx of first-graders this fall.
When work began on the two completed classrooms, enough land was cleared and leveled to make room for four. The foundations were finished in January. The third phase for the two classrooms needed for the first-graders was started on May 1. Building will continue only as funds become available. We have until September to complete this project to be ready for so many first-graders. Two more classrooms are needed now because of the government requirement for kindergartners to move to first grade and the first-graders to remain in first-grade.
After being released from isolation, my first venture out was to visit the school and the project in progress. I was pleased at what I saw happening. It is good to know life goes on at Urukundo even if I am in isolation.
I was amazed at how liberating just the ability to walk to the school was. Such an adventure!
I take time to rest beneath a tree near the library. Still going strong, just a bit slower,
It is said April showers bring May flowers.
OK, so where are my sunflowers?
One is not enough to feed chickens.
Maybe next year.
Mama
Celebrate April Fools’ Day, an American tradition
I remember as a child we looked forward to April 1, known as April Fools’ Day. That was a day when we played tricks on each other and shared a good laugh.
This April 1 was different. No joking matter. As we face an uncertain future, there is a need to share love and a smile with those who face this virus while trying to protect those we love, survive, and stay healthy and safe. No joking matter. Be serious.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Our neighbor is global. This is different from the time of my birth in 1930 when my neighbor lived next door.
In this time of global crisis, stay healthy and stay safe.
My best advice: Use common sense.
The saying is: April showers bring May flowers. Not so in Rwanda. The rain storms this month have been terrible. They are much worse than usual, and usual was bad enough.
We have not had a total dry season for about a year and Africa's weather has changed so much. Climate change is very evident. It is a bit confusing for the farm people. When to plant is the question. Heavy rain washes away the seeds.
With all the thunder and lightning, I appreciate our donors who sent money for us to erect lightning arrestors at the school and in the village. Those arrestors have saved lives not only for Urukundo but for the community. The land of a thousand hills is lovely but dangerous if there is no protection from electrical storms.
Mudslides from the rainstorms have destroyed many homes, taken many lives and in some cases washed away whole villages. Many of our staff have had home damage (Pastor Yves for one). Mud bricks are susceptible to rain. They’re somewhat like sugar cubes being exposed to drops of water over an extended period of time. Slowly, slowly they dissolve. Best description I can think of.
The US embassy warned of heavy rainstorms on April 18,19 and 20. They were right. These storms have continued. We have dug deep ditches and tried to accommodate excessive runoff to protect the village. The plan was for the water to run past my house to the main road where drainage was available. It did not go past my house. Instead, the deluge was aimed at my house. My home had not been in jeopardy before, but by taking steps to protect Urukundo Village, it was.
The first storm came at night. Lying in my bed, listening to the thunder and watching a late night lightning show is intimidating. The flashes lit up the room. It was like someone was turning off and on a huge flashlight. I am not afraid of thunder. It is a big noise. Am I afraid of lightning? Of course, I am. The two go together.
The second storm was even worse than the first. There was rain, tons of groundwater, heavy wind, lightning bolts and strikes, loud thunder and no visibility. The area around my house was a raging river. My front yard was a boiling lake. I have experienced floods in the USA, but from creeks rising, giving time to evacuate and not from water pouring down from the top of a mountain with no warning. This was different. Neither are any fun, and both are lots of cleanup work.
Progress is being made.
After the first storm, it was necessary to protect the foundation of my home and guest house. To provide an outlet for the water, it was necessary to remove some of the cement blocking the flow. Digging a ditch to connect our excess water to the drainage ditch along the main road required a ditch alongside my driveway. Let's hope it works.
Out my bedroom window. Day worker working hard.
Well, guess what didn’t work. Surprise, surprise.
The protection needed to be expanded. Benjamin and two workers, allowed by the village leader even with the distance rule, extended the ditch directing the water away from my house. Pickaxe, shovel, wheelbarrow and a lot of muscle are what it took to divert the stormwater away from my house.
Latest version of the ditch on April 25.
At the top of the steps lies the garden that flooded earlier. All water at the upper level and the top of the mountain now will travel the new ditch and pass by the red ledge corner of my house and into the drainage ditch at the road.
This one worked.
Storms continued beyond the embassy’s forecast, but now the water bypasses my house. I thank God for the workers who tirelessly continue working to keep me safe from mudslides, floods and the Pandemic virus.
Palm Sunday has been set with tradition at Urukundo. The branches on this plant were stripped, thorns removed and preparations were made for the morning service.
Last year, in 2019, the children walked to the Worship Center, waving the palm branches and singing.
Because of the virus, this year was different. The plant was not denuded, and I watched with fascination as this new growth appeared. This is the plant on April 12.
Waiting to see what will develop. This new life may be our symbol of the new hope of life given for us on the cross.
Watching the change taking place. OK, I think a good pastime during shutdown is watching a plant grow. This is the plant on April 25. How exciting can that be?
Living in quarantine has been very lonely for me as a people person. Easter Sunday morning found me more than a bit depressed.
On my shelf beckoning to me was a colorful shawl. I felt a chill. I reached out my hand and wrapped the shawl around my body. The warmth I felt was enriched by the message on the tag: “It is our prayer you may feel the grace and peace of God’s ever-present love.”
I needed that message. I send this message to all of you who are feeling alone and wounded. We are never alone as long as there is love to share.
I look forward to when the book “Hope Made Real” is published and I can come to the USA to share it with you. I will be available for book signing and sharing my favorite passages. Bookings later.
Hoping it will be in the fall or early spring. A lot depends on this very contagious virus. In the meantime, I would like to share excerpts I feel appropriate with you.
It seems this segment from Page 112 about a time when I was a speaker in the worship service fits well with April and the Easter season:
While I was still serving as the speaker, a special Sunday in April was a challenge. Each April the country sets aside a time of remembrance for those who died during the genocide. It is such a sad time for the Rwandese. By government decree, there are to be no festivities or celebrations during the entire month of April. Weddings and parties are taboo. Singing and dancing are prohibited.
Yet, every four years this mournful national observance falls at the same time as the Christian celebration of Easter. My kids and the worshipping community look forward to the fun and joy of Easter morning. The older girls practice for weeks to present a traditional dance and the children’s choirs practice new selections. This year we had to tell the children that none of this was allowed. The younger ones could not understand the reasoning for this gloom.
As luck would have it, I was to give the Sunday message. I tossed and turned all night deciding what I could say that would respect the Rwandan observance of remembrance yet still celebrate the risen Christ of Easter. The next morning rising up from my chair in the front row and stepping up onto the platform here is the essence of what I said.
“This morning we, with our country, feel sad for people who died during a very troubled time. None of you children had been born yet, but it is important for you to know what happened and to honor those who died. We also feel happy because it is Easter when we celebrate the risen Christ. None of those living today were born when that happened either. We can feel both sad and happy at the same time; sad for those who died, and happy to celebrate Easter. We grieve for what is lost and rejoice for what is gained.”
Thank goodness, as I sat down the children rescued me by launching into the song, Because He Lives in English and then in Kinyarwanda. I was so pleased. Afterwards, the service ended in silence and everyone departed quietly.
