A very proud papa. Benjamin, our maintenance manager, brought his daughters to visit Mama. Benj also has two sons, but papas and their daughters in every family are very special. Ange is 10 years, and Josianne is 18 months. Mama gave the girls each a packet of cookies (green packet) and sent two for the brothers. The three older children are students at Urukundo Learning Center.
Life without school
Here’s an update on what is going on in the life of Claude, our 13-year-old secondary (junior high) school student.
With opening schools still on hold and the music program finished until school opens, Claude wanted something to keep him busy. He has always liked the farm and the animals there. Yep, he is becoming a farmer.
Theresa, manager of the Sewing Center, made him a coverall to protect his regular clothes. Urukundo bought him a pair of boots, and he was ready to work.
Feeding and watering chickens takes up a lot of his day.
Claude said he does not like the pigs, and the cows are very big. I understand that. These broilers will be ready for market soon.
The cowboy is in the teaching mode, and Claude is the student. Being friends with the cowboy is very important. Cows are honored in Rwanda and being a cowboy is also an honored position.
The farm got a great helper, and Claude has a learning experience to his credit.
Farm update
The pandemic has made us more aware of the need to have earned income and to be self-sustaining. The farm has the most potential as food is a necessary commodity all the time, no matter the circumstances. For some time now, we have looked for ways to improve the farm. Thanks to special donations designated for the farm, our buildings have been made safer for our animals and more day-old chicks have been purchased.
Removing buildings that are no longer usable to make room for our expanding poultry production is a step needed. Demolition is a part of improvement.
Benjamin, our maintenance manager (in the red hat), and his crew of three carefully remove the roof tiles. They will be given as promised to the woman who sold us this piece of farmland. It has been a long time coming and she has been patient.
We used the building as a place to store bulk food for animals. Finally, after feeding mice, other larger rodents, birds, and heaven knows what other creatures who stole our animal food, this old shed is coming down. It is a mud-brick structure. Mud here is red. Age and weather also have also taken their toll.
We now store animal food in this well-constructed building.
There are screens on the windows to keep out birds. There is a door that closes to keep out uninvited guests. It’s definitely a safer place to store animal food and necessary wood chips for baby chicks.
There is a story connected to the old building.
This was the only building on the piece of land when we bought it 14 years ago. The older woman, Esperance, who sold it to us, wanted the tiles from the roof. Now, I ask you, what good would a building be without a roof? I refused, but I promised her when we tore down the building, we would give her the tiles.
For several years she came almost every week to make sure we had not taken the building down and kept the tiles. She was keeping her eye on her roof tiles. I don’t blame her. I was determined to keep my promise to her. That was my first direction when the old building was to come down: “Remove the tiles carefully and call the lady and let her know she can come for her promised tiles.” Bless her heart. She came to see if it was for real and when all the tiles were removed, she and helpers loaded the tiles into a truck and took them away. She was very pleased that at last, the tiles were hers.
Yes, now 14 years later, the dear lady has her roof tiles. We have kept our promise.
The roof is off. The tiles are gone. Progress in action.
The mud-brick, shed-type building was in bad shape when we purchased the land. The rodents in this building were a danger to our baby chicks. No more predators.
All that remains.
In closing
The coronavirus has made life a trying time here in Rwanda and in other countries.
We are all in this together.
Do your best to stay healthy and stay safe.
This too shall pass.
When? I do not know.
Mama
August newsletter
August is a month of preparation. School reopening may well be a “Hope Made Real.” There are many steps to be taken and many requirements to be met. We are up to the challenge, thanks to so many donors who care.
Will schools reopen? That is still the question in Rwanda.
Worship has begun again at Urukundo Worship Center, but we are moving slowly and taking hand sanitizing, distancing and masks seriously.
Meeting the challenges
Urukundo has dealt with many challenges since its founding in 2006. Needless to say, 2020 is the most challenging yet. The major 2020 challenges are sustaining our employees with wages during the shutdown caused by the virus and the new requirements put in place by the Ministry of Education to reopen our school safely. Required are 15 wash stations between classrooms, head thermometers and a quarantine room for isolation should it be needed.
Another challenge is making these mountainous school walkways to classrooms handicap accessible. As I indicated last month, we are doing our best to make that happen. Photos show the work being done.
The long path from the library, with the steps gone, to the primary level classrooms below, makes even walking more comfortable.
There were many steps from the porch to the ground level, and the steps are no more.
There are no more steps from the school office downhill to the teacher resource area.
Our workers appreciate the new walkways. Easier to keep clean.
The slant makes sure rainwater moves away from the building and is not a problem. Dealing with torrential rainstorms and excess water damage are also on the list of challenges we have met and continue to handle.
Kitchen challenge
A new challenge is improving the kitchen and the fuel we use. It is necessary to stop cutting down trees that are so needed to preserve our land from erosion caused by heavy rain and mudslides. The trees from the forests are used for firewood for cooking and to produce charcoal. Cutting down trees hurts the environment. The solution is propane gas, which is now available for cooking in the Muhanga area. Urukundo meets the requirement to switch to propane because we feed so many children and staff.
What our tank will look like.
This is one size. Needed are different size cookers for different size cooking pans. Cooker is the term used in Rwanda for what I would call a gas burner. Their term does seem more accurate.
Just a few pans of different sizes.
The above photos will give you an idea of the equipment needed to improve our kitchen.
This will require building a new, improved kitchen. We hope to accomplish this switchover before it is mandated and costs go sky-high because, at that time, the demand for materials will increase. The estimate we will receive will include the large outside tank, all necessary hookup equipment, cookers and pans of the sizes needed for the cookers.
Our kitchen does not meet the requirements for the transfer from wood to propane. We will demolish the kitchen and start from scratch. We have used the present kitchen since 2006, and wood smoke and inferior building materials have taken their toll. The walls are black from smoke, no exhaust system and poor ventilation. It is long past time for a change.
Wood smoke and not enough ventilation have been ongoing problems. It is not healthy for our kitchen staff. This has to be the new priority.
The platform is the location of the sink where we wash huge pots, pans and cooking utensils.
The cooking area is in bad shape. Our cooks and kitchen help continue to serve great meals. I, for one, could not work in such conditions. How about you? Want to trade kitchens?
Below is a floor plan for the proposed new kitchen. When the construction is completed, it will be a “Hope Made Real.” A significant improvement in the process. Can’t wait for the new and improved kitchen with propane gas, more and better work areas, and ventilation.
The image below shares with you the vision of our new kitchen and connecting dining room. The dining room will connect directly to the kitchen, avoiding carrying food outdoors, rain or shine. There will be proper ventilation and an exhaust system in both places — a huge but necessary project — and no more wood burning. Propane and biogas will be the fuels for cooking, creating a more efficient and healthier environment. The result will be better working conditions for our kitchen staff and safer transport of food.
This is a small beginning for the dining room, but it is a start.
Donations appreciated.
New classrooms ready
The last two classrooms have been completed, and we have space for the distancing required for our students, thanks to the generous support from donors.
Notice the new construction is handicap accessible. It is less expensive if the paving is done when building takes place.
Look, Mom. No steps.
Fun with photography
Keeping kids busy during the time of no school has been challenging for Urukundo’s staff. We used music for some and photography for others. Give a kid a camera and an interesting experience takes place, not just for the kid but also for the mama (me). I have two cameras I protect with my life. It was hard to give the cameras to the kids, but it was necessary. I am pleased to say they took care of the cameras as I would myself.
I am no judge of photography, but I know what I like, and I like their ideas of good photography. They are very creative and artistic. I have chosen just a few to share. I am sharing these photos taken by the kids, without comment.
Your comments would be appreciated, please.
I repeat, comments, please. Photography for art’s sake.
Precious faces
Featuring baby Edith at daycare.
Big brother Jerry, little sister Edith.
Sarah is such a helper in the daycare!
Thoughts for the month
In closing, I share my thoughts for the month with you.
Let our hearts and eyes see and appreciate all the beauty around us.
Let us see the wonders of our world through the eyes of a child.
Mama
July 2020 Newsletter
The month of July is a month of celebration in Rwanda. On July 1, Independence Day is observed, and it is a public holiday. July 4 is celebrated as Liberation Day. On this day, we commemorate the end of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Because of the pandemic, there is little celebration in Rwanda this year. We celebrated in our hearts and not on our streets because of the coronavirus and social distancing.
July 4 is also independence day in my homeland, the USA. A dear friend, Clare Effiong, baked me a special cake. Clare is director of Esther’s Aid, an NGO and culinary arts and career school in Kigali. Clare is also a US citizen from New York City.
She also brought juice, and we celebrated Rwanda’s Liberation Day and our country's Independence Day with cake and juice for the staff and kids at Urukundo. The icing was delicious. I like icing better than cake. I think it is the kid in me. To observe distancing and show respect for the danger of the virus, kids and staff were invited to drop by whenever convenient and not in groups. It worked well.