Return visitors

From left, Soso, Louise, Lucky and Claude #1.

It was a delight for the boys and me to welcome home Louise Medland. Louise has been a part of the Urukundo family for many years, and she has been Lucky's support person since Lucky was 6 months old. Lucky is now 15 years old and in his fourth year of high school. Louise also spent time with me at the hospital. I so appreciated her care. Louise comes to Urukundo from the UK.

When you are not feeling up to par, it is great to have friends come to visit. A visit from Dr. Otto Fischer of Austria gave my spirits a much-needed lift. Otto brought me chocolate from his home in Austria.

A bit of chocolate each day is good for the body and especially mine. Next best to Fritos Corn Chips and peppermint patties. OK, so I have a few vices. These are not bad ones, just fattening.

Always a welcome visitor, Bruce Krogh of the USA minus Margie arrived for a short visit. He had lunch with Mama in her dining room. School is not in session, so Bruce spent the afternoon with our kids who are visiting also.

School break

The secondary kids who were home at the end of the school year joined our home kids for a photo shoot.

From left, secondary kids Claude #1, Lucky, Kenilla and Kenny along with Forever, who is in primary; Yves, who is in secondary; and Claudine who will start secondary in September.

Others who could not make it home and are in secondary boarding schools are David, Nellie, John, Livine and Sarah.

Our recent Primary 6 graduates are Claudine, Kaboss, Egide and Claude #2.

Claude #2 will start secondary school this year along with Claudine.

Welcoming home our secondary kids during the long school break between school years is an event we look forward to. They need the time to be together, and I need the time to see them and know they are OK.

Support is still needed for all these children.

Kenilla helping out at the daycare.

Playing games at Mama’s table.

Kenny and Kenilla and Rummikub.

Next game up is Qwirkle. Yves joins the fun.

Sports are included in the activities.

Volleyball net is in place.

The need for basketball nets is apparent. Kids use the rims without a net now.

Volleyball

The month ended with a volleyball competition. The parents and employees from the Urukundo Foundation played the employees from Zipline on the foundation’s volleyball court on Aug. 26. Zipline does deliveries by drone in Rwanda.

The Urukundo team rallied before the games began. Benj (red hat) observed in background.

Zipline team huddled.

It took four games to declare a winner of the tournament. Urukundo Foundation won the final game and was declared the winner, three games to one.

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July 2022 Newsletter

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In July, a lot of activity took place at Urukundo Foundation, both at the school and in the village.

I do hope you enjoy the journey through the month with me.

Work continues on the renovation of my old residence for it to become the new location of the Dental Clinic.

Inside work is underway.

Floors are being prepared and waiting for the tile.

The required tile does make a difference.

The new roof is on now. Ceiling panels are needed.

From this to …

THIS! Beautiful.

Gate entrance to the new Dental Clinic from the main road. Looking good. What cleaning the bricks can do!

Same wall looking toward the gate. A lot of work but worth the effort.

Inside the gate. Ollie checking it out.

Developing space for parking. Hard labor. From this to …

THIS! Off-street parking.

Handicap accessible entrance from the parking lot to the waiting room. Ramp in place.

As in all areas of Urukundo, the Dental Clinic has an accessible entrance. Cement not dry yet.

August will see the end of construction and the opening of the improved Dental Clinic. Thanks to all who helped make this possible. I am grateful.

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Karate kids

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Because of Covid-19, it has been a long time since recognition has been given to our karate kids. They continue to advance in skill. Congratulations, kids.

Proud mom honors her karate kid.

Mom and dad are pleased.

A certificate was presented with a dad sharing the moment.

Another proud dad.

Olive presents a certificate with karate master Eugene watching. Eugene is also our farm manager.

Certificates awarded.

Visitors

Left to right: Dr. Sherri Woods, mHub; Yvonne Uwamahoro, mHub; Yvan Rubengebenge, GEI; Eric, Urukundo’s executive secretary; Juliette, Urukundo’s human resource manager; Mama; Jean Marie, Urukundo’s director, and Sherri Prince, an instructor at Youngstown State University traveling with Dr. Woods.

Dr. Woods is an assistant professor and Sherri Prince is an instructor at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, USA. We so appreciated their visit.

Mental health and well-being have long been a concern at Urukundo Learning Center and Village. The welfare of our students, employees and the community is important. Our goal is to have a full-time counselor and social worker on staff. Sharing our concerns are the Global Engagement Institute (GEI) and mHub, two organizations founded in Rwanda by Dr. Michael Grosspietsch of Germany.

Our association with Dr. Grosspietsch and GEI dates back to 2006. Dr. Grosspietsh said, “Our mental health and well-being are incredibly precious; we all need to take proactive care of ourselves. Realizing that many people worldwide lack access to even the most basic quality mental health services, I founded mHub in order to help overcome this enormous challenge.”

Dr. Sherri Woods and Ms. Sherri Prince came to Rwanda as volunteers at the GEI Mental Health Hub in Kigali. Dr. Grosspietschl suggested we might have interests in common. Dr. Woods and Ms. Prince traveled from Kigali to Muhanga and included Urukundo in their travels. Accompanying Dr. Woods were, from mHub, Yvonne Uwamahoro, from mHub, and and Yvan Rubengebenge from GEI..

We had more visitors the weekend of July 8. This weekend was a very busy time at Urukundo.

Not just busy, but also a happy time.

We welcomed in the new residence/guest house our first team since the pandemic. It was great to see a bus pull into the compound after the two-year, no-visitor-time period brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This delegation consisted of seven faculty and staff members from SUNY Buffalo State College, New York, USA. Professor Drew Kahn was team leader. Other members of the delegation were associate provost Amitra Wall and teaching artists Jonise Hall, Rose Corrado, Zhanna Reed, Gabby McKinley and Amanda Rojo.

Left to right: Rose, Jonise, Drew, Amanda, Amitra, Gabby and Zhanna.

What a joy, to greet the delegation from Buffalo State back to Urukundo Learning Center after a two-year absence!

Their purpose is to teach teachers through the Anne Frank Project. The Anne Frank Project uses the power of stories as vehicles for community building, conflict management and identity exploration, inspired by the wisdom of Anne Frank. Visit their "Anne Frank Project" website to learn more about this fantastic project.

Drew Kahn, distinguished service professor in the Department of Theater, teaches acting at Buffalo State. Professor Kahn is also on the Hope Made Real International Board.

Seventy-five teachers from the Muhanga District attended this year's seminar.

It was an exciting four days for Urukundo teachers, staff and teachers from the Muhanga District.

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Graduation

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In the past, our graduation has been in November. Rwanda has long been trying to change the school year from January to November to September to June. The school year missed because of Covid-19 allowed that to happen.

Yes, our school year now is in sync with other countries. Is it a better plan? We will see.

Practicing begins for graduation. The basketball field works well.

The kids worked hard to present their talents and knowledge to parents and friends.

Primary 6 ready and waiting.

Quote from a student: “We are ready. We will show our parents and friends what we have learned during our school years.”

We present to you, our followers, a taste of the graduation, hoping you will read our Special Report for a more comprehensive visit.

Our traditional dancers.

The Sewing Center models.

Kindergarten graduates.

There is much more. Be sure to visit the Urukundo Graduation 2022 Special!

A special wedding

We had a special wedding and reception at Home Made Real House. Executive Secretary Eric married the love of his life, Noella, on July 23. All Urukundo staff celebrated with them.

Honored guests.

Wedding guests visit Mama’s house to view the pictures of animals. Elephant, giraffe, zebra and gorilla. Out of camera range is a lion.

Our ladies dress very elegantly in the traditional wedding style.

Mediatrice, Liberatha, Libby, Juliette, Cecile and Chantel.

The wedding cake and decorations (colored lighting is magic) were beautiful.

Eric gives good hugs.

What an exciting month for Urukundo!