Newsletter for September 2022

August and September have been wonderful months.

Having so many of our kids home during the school break has been great.

From left, Claude #1, Lucky, Kenilla, Kenny, Forever, Yves and Claudine

I am amazed to see how grown up they are. Several are now old enough to travel alone on public transportation and come home to Urukundo.

Kenny and Kenilla, the twins, were here for two weeks and returned to their biological family. Their grandfather, who is the caregiver for them, is a paraplegic. I am not sure who cares for whom.

My little kids are growing up.

Claude #2 came in August for a week and then returned to his bio family.

I find it hard to believe Claude #2 will start secondary school this year.

Kaboss, Egide and David came Friday, Sept. 2, and Prince arrived Monday, Sept 5.

From left, Kaboss, David, Egide and Prince

From left, Kaboss, Soso, David, Egide and Prince

I needed to get Soso in the photo. He is our ambassador on campus. He meets and greets all the kids as they come home. Sorry to say he will move off campus this October to live in a family situation.

Claude #1, Lucky and Aline are now in Senior 4. Senior 4 is when children in Rwanda must choose a career goal and a school that specializes in the subjects to help them attain that goal.

From left, Claude #1, Aline and Lucky

Claude #1 is going into the medical field. He intends to be a general practitioner and have a family practice. Lucky’s goal is to be a journalist. Aline wants to be a web designer.

I do hope we can help them reach their goals.

News of other children not pictured.

Sarah and Livine were here for a short time, but no photo.

Nelly and Rebecca are fine. They were not able to make it home to Urukundo this school break.

Kavine, Diane, Joyce and Benita all live close by and attend Urukundo Learning Center. I see them most every day.

My little ones, Jacob, Jeanette and Jason, are still too young to travel alone.

Their time will come.

We are blessed to have 26 boys and girls in the younger generation of Urukundo kids.

Urukundo is financially responsible for all of our kids. I am concerned about how long we can continue with their support as donations and child support are trending down. We need all sponsors on board. We need your continued support.

We are just now feeling the impact of covid on donations.. Strange, I would have thought it would have been in 2020 and 2021, not 2022.

Beautiful weddings

This wedding took place at Urukundo Hopemadereal (HMR) House on July 23. The groom is Eric, my executive secretary. His lovely bride is Noella. I was not able to get a good photo as my camera malfunctioned. This photo was just sent to me, so I want to share it with you. Better late than never.

We had another special wedding.

When Urukundo opened the Learning Center in 2011, David was one of our first teachers. After several years, David moved on in his career. It was a pleasant surprise when David and his bride-to-be chose to have their wedding celebration at the Urukundo HMR House.

Regretfully, the wedding took place at the same time as pneumonia put me in the hospital so I did not attend the wedding. After their honeymoon, David came to visit me. I was so pleased with his kind consideration. We had a nice visit and he promised to bring his bride on his next visit.

Mama and David

Baby news

Our staff, along with my daughter Jacque, celebrated this blessed event.

My assistant Olive gave birth on Sept. 14 to a beautiful baby girl.

Mama Olive, Papa Guy, Jacque and baby Linn. Linn shares her birthday with Jacque. I know because I was there for Jacque’s birth. Awesome that Jacque happened to be here just after the birth.

Her name is MWIZA Linn Tiana Fogang. A lot of names for such a little girl. MWIZA in Kinyarwanda means beautiful.

Visitors

What could be more wonderful than to have two daughters come home at the same time? That happened to me in September.

My Rwandan daughter Solange arrived on Sept. 16.

Read about her in my book “Hope Made Real: The Story of Mama Arlene and the Children of Urukundo” on Page 74. Her story is unique. She moved from Rwanda to McAllen, Texas, when she was about 13. She became a citizen of the USA and now lives in New Mexico, USA. This was her first visit home since leaving Urukundo as a little girl.

Accompanying Solange were her fiance Mark and his sister Ana. Solange was surprised at the many changes at Urukundo and in Rwanda. While at Urukundo, they visited Akagera National Park and the King’s Palace at Nyanza.

Urukundo Director Jean Marie (right) led them on a tour of Urukundo.

They stopped at the new dental facility.

The day care children greeted Mark.

Solange got lots of hugs from staff who knew her as a little girl.

They are hikers and sightseers. Solange enjoyed showing her guests her country, Rwanda.

Aline walked with them.

The next daughter to arrive was my youngest daughter, Jacque, who arrived on Sept. 18. I do have three daughters in the USA plus two daughters-in-law.

Jacque was accompanied by her husband, Sean. His smiling face made my heart sing.

Spending time with the little ones at the daycare was a highlight in their visit.

Daycare manager Anitha looks on with an approving smile.

A special vehicle is needed for a visit to Akagera National Park and the King's Palace Museum.

Urukundo has access to such a vehicle through Let’s Go There Africa.

So much to see and do. My favorite photo is my son-in-law and the big horned cow.

Sean petting the royal cow at the King's Palace.

Notice he did not pet the elephants at Akagera National Park.

Mama and Baby Project

Desperate mothers benefit from our Mama and baby projects. How much we take for granted and others hope & pray for.

These are just two of many. Making a difference where it counts. Thanks a bunch.

Worship

Pastor Yves and co-pastor Chantel had the pleasure of presenting Bibles to our two P6 graduates during the worship service.

Presenting Bibles

Sunday School resumes

In 2020, all group gatherings were stopped to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. In late 2021, groups were allowed to meet with distancing and masks, but children under age 12 were not allowed to be in those gatherings. Now it is 2022, and we rejoice. Our young children are again in our midst. Sunday School resumed as a part of our worship.

This was our first Sunday School since covid stopped all children under age 12 from coming to worship.

It was so great to welcome the children back.

Sunday School must have a teacher. We welcome and thank teacher Donatille.

New at the school

Adding color and fun. Making the school wall more friendly.

See next month's newsletter for further developments.

New school year

The 2022-23 school year opened at Urukundo Learning Center and in all of Rwanda.

First day at school, 3-year-old, separation problems.

Leaving mama is the hard part.

First day of school, 4-year-olds, no separation problem. What a difference a year makes!

Many young minds will be stimulated as our new school year begins. I like this quote from Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Our motto for all students is: “ Do your best, to be your best.”

Mama

August 2022 Newsletter

No one is indispensable, and I am delighted to share with you, my followers, that the Urukundo Foundation functions very well when I am not functioning.

August has been interesting. Healthwise for me, it was scary. I have had many cough and cold episodes. In Rwanda, it was seasonal. With so many seasonal changes in Rwanda, the bug did not just go away as it usually did. It decided to hang around and introduce a friend. That friend’s name is pneumonia. Yes, I have had the pneumonia shot along with many other shots and that shot probably helped me survive. But it did not keep me from the infection.

Being a stubborn woman, I chose not to seek medical help and so allowed the infection to become severe. Two weeks after a hospital stay of six days, I am back home and healthy again.

Lesson learned: At any age, do not be your own doctor.

The proof is in the pudding.

Dental Clinic update

Working hard to renovate the old residence into an improved Dental Clinic, we are nearing success. Caring for our clients is important. Thus, steps and a ramp are both necessary and available.

The remaining work to be done on the handicap ramp is side rails to avoid an accident. Wheelchairs could overrun the ramp. Putting the rails in place is an added cost but necessary.

The interior work is complete. We are now waiting for the Ministry of Health to approve the renovation. We hope the final update will come in the September newsletter. In the meantime, we are still working from the old location.

View of the front entrance and parking area.

Love being able to see the trees in the neighbor's yard. I do miss the lawn and shade tree.

Weddings in August

I am starting a portfolio of wedding decorations at the Hopemadereal (HMR) House.

I am fascinated with the many different ways brides decorate the HMR House for their weddings and thought you, my friends, might like to see them. The families of the wedding party bring the decorations and do the decorating before and dismantling after the celebration. Each one is unique to the bride and her family.

This one is quite simple but lovely.

Gold seems to be the theme for this one. Notice the lanterns.

Red is the central color beginning with red roses and red tablecloths.

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.