A message from Mama

I will be visiting family and friends in the United States for a short stay of six weeks from July 24 through Sept. 6.

During that time I will visit Reston, Va., and Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Williamsport, all three in Pennsylvania.

I do hope to see not only family but friends who want to spend some time with me. You are welcome to visit me at the homes of my children or take me to lunch etc. Please be in touch so we can set a date and time to meet with you. My email is brown.arlene30@gmail.com

Love, Mama

May newsletter

The saying in Pennsylvania is “April showers bring May flowers.” In Rwanda, it could say “April showers bring more showers in May.” Climate change is worldwide and has not missed Rwanda.

Wet and dry do not describe the seasons anymore.

Sewing Center changes

Our breaking news for the month of May is the ongoing development of the Sewing Center. Change has taken place, both in location and name.

It is now the Tom Nunnally Sewing Center. We are very proud to dedicate this sewing center to its benefactor.

Tom Nunnally

1942-2016

Patron saint of Urukundo Learning Center from 2006 to 2016.

The new center is on three levels.

The first level is Hillside House.

Hillside House is the academic and lecture building. The Sewing Center holds classes here.

This is an inside view of Hillside House. Classes in math, English, computer, entrepreneurship and business management are taught here. Our graduates are ready to start their own businesses after graduation.

Building the handicap-accessible path was a down, down downhill project. The round building is an empty office building. For now.

Look at me. I’m here. How about that?

The path from the first level borders the daycare. The play area was enlarged. The daycare kids love the new play area.

I take a stroll to inspect.

The path to the new Sewing Center location goes down and down. Down is bad, but coming up and up is worse. There has to be a shorter way down and up for me. Don’t know just how to make that happen. An elevator is out of the question, and an escalator is impossible. This is definitely a path for young people.

This path is challenging.

Visitor Marilyn Ely and I both appreciate Benjamin’s assistance

A resting place. I will not do this walk often.

The middle level includes the Sewing Center staff office, a first aid room and a large classroom. Outside painting is yet to be done.

Inside the middle sewing classroom. Hands-on training with treadle machines

Making patterns and cutting materials are all in the learning process.

The view from the middle level is spectacular.

Lower-level sewing instruction class building

So much more space!  Lower level hands-on training classroom.

Baby found

Vendors come to visit Urukundo to sell their crafts. This woman warmed our hearts.

Our craft women found a newborn baby thrown into the bush. She picked up the newborn and carried the baby to her home. She and her family are caring for the baby until a permanent home can be found. To show her how much we appreciate what she is doing, we gave her clothes for the baby and a shawl for her.

A young mama and her baby. So glad the Mama & Baby project makes it possible for us to help.

Special presentations for visitors

It came time for our visitors, Carol Falke, president of the Hope Made Real International Board, and Marilyn Ely, board treasurer, to return to Pennsylvania, USA. We said good-bye to Carol and Marilyn on April 29.

Urukundo National Board president Oswalde, Mama, Benita, Diane, Carol, Marilyn, Vanessa and Joyce gather as our visitors prepare to leave. Ollie also was sorry to see them go.

Before they left, our children and teachers wanted to give a presentation of their school and what they do. They worked very hard preparing this presentation (assembly program). The presentation was awesome. I hope you enjoy it as much as our guests did.

Assembly of students and staff

Please remember all presenters in the photos are 13 years and younger. The makeup is deceiving. Their presentation was both educational and interesting for our guests.

After greeting the special guests, the narrator spoke in English. She said, “My name is Aimee Carine KEZA, I am 12 years old, and I am a member of the English Club.”

I was impressed.

She said, “The English Club teaches us to speak English well and understand the meaning of English words. English is a new language for us.”

She also stated, “The French Club is also important as many of our parents and grandparents speak French. We appreciate our school teaching both French and English.”

The French Club sang songs and presented a dialogue, of course, in French. They were great.

Our narrator talked about  IHURIRO Ry’UMUCO (Rwanda Culture Club). The club preserves Rwandan culture, values and qualities, and teaches about traditional dance, beliefs, norms and many other facets of life in Rwanda.

The cultural presentation was well done by the students. I share some of it with you.

The traditional naming ceremony for Rwandan babies

Family and friends gather.

Mama, papa and baby. What name will we give this baby?

Family and friends sharing a meal Rwanda-style at the naming.

Older siblings explain the purpose of this feast.

All share milk from one jar.

Milk mustaches

Children enjoying a meal at the naming ceremony. This is finger food.

Gifts for the family of baby

A closer look

Old men (grandfathers) embrace at the naming of the newborn.

Great performance. Hey, they can remove the old age. I can’t.

Ceremonial cow dancers (culture). The two men chant and dance for the cow presentation. This dance is done during dowry celebrations at Rwandan weddings.

Crushing cassava roots to make flour for traditional bread.

During the presentation, students presented their career goals.

 Pilot

Business woman

 Entertainer

Astronaut

Volleyball player

Teacher

These are just a few of the choices.

The kids lined up waiting to present their career choices. Look closely and you will see a dentist (teeth), doctor (stethoscope), pharmacist, pastor (black robe), beautician, lawyer, engineer, businessman (briefcase) – and the list goes on.

Our kids have dreams and goals.

Here are some other pictures from the presentation:

The Karate Club waiting to show their skills. Our narrator said, “Karate teaches children to protect themselves and others in danger.”

Karate Club

Traditional dancing

Dance Club

The Dance Club consisted of singers, drummers and dancers. Each plays a part.

Boy dancers

Milk jar            Kalabash                      Gift basket

In the background are singers and drummers.

University visitors

A delegation from Youngstown State University spent two days of quality time with Urukundo’s teachers.

Thirty-two volunteers arrived on campus.

The group gathered at Mama’s house for orientation. Then they headed on a sightseeing excursion of Urukundo’s campus.

Hillside House was perfect for the teaching program on emotional well being.

Classrooms at the school worked well for small group sessions.

During lunch break, they enjoyed the basketball court.

The second day, they spent time with the children in their classrooms.

The nurses spent time at the daycare.

What an amazing group!

Message from Mama

Urukundo Advent Journey Calendar

My daughter, who wishes to aid you in your support for me and the children, invites you to participate in the “Urukundo Advent Journey Calendar.” (As a pastor herself, she knows how far ahead you may begin to plan.)

Participation is simple. You’ll receive the one-page calendar to print front and back. It can be distributed to friends and family or any club, group or congregation. Each day, the reader will discover interesting facts about Urukundo Village, its school children, the teachers, dentists and farmers as well as the people of Rwanda. They also will be challenged to consider their own life blessings and be challenged to give a suggested small amount. This can be a special offering brought on Christmas Eve or Christmas, concluding the journey. As always, 100 percent goes directly to support Mama Arlene and the children and mission of Urukundo.

If you’d like to participate, she asks you to contact her by phone, text, or email:  Patricia Brown, 412-999-1912, pdbrown@spiritworks.org.  She looks forward to hearing from you.

Visitor No. 1 (not in order of importance; just by arrival times)

Kyle Jerro

Before covid, Kyle was a yearly visitor. In 2020, covid changed all that. Having Kyle come home was special as he has been missed. Kyle is from Texas and is currently employed in the UK. His position is senior lecturer, Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex. Kyle also served on our Hope Made Real International Board for three terms.

His arrival on March 23 was a celebration. He had a short time with the Urukundo students as the first two weeks of April are spring break. The students were spending time at home with their parents and siblings.

We were happy to welcome Kyle back even though his visit was short.

Meeting with and greeting the kids was special.

The tradition for our students is to gather for closing exercises. That event happened this year on March 31. The soccer field is the perfect place for more than 1,150 kids to gather. Awards and report cards were given for the term, and parents accompanied the kids to this gathering.

I also am privileged to attend this momentous occasion.

A bench was provided for me. Kyle and I shared the bench.

Kyle spent free time at the daycare. Our daycare is open year-round. Kyle was caught on the floor playing with the younger set.

Pretend cameras are fun. Doesn’t everyone smile for the camera with their eyes closed?

A new experience

It is our wish to share a bit of the Muhanga District with visitors.

The only body of water in Muhanga was visited by Olive, our hospitality manager; Kyle; Oswald, our transportation manager and president of the Hope Made Real National Board; and Juliette, human resource manager and vice president of the national board

Yes, we do have a small lake (reservoir) in Muhanga. Better known as the Muhanga Dam. Because of this dam, we are able to irrigate our rice fields. It is a site (sight) to be enjoyed. Kyle enjoyed the sight-seeing tour in the Muhanga District. This tour included the Zipline Airport.

The drone manager explained how essential this service is to our mountainous world. Emergency medicine that used to take five or six hours by car now reaches the patient in minutes.

Lives have been saved because of the drone service. The red containers hold the product, and parachutes are attached to drop essential items where needed. Drones carry the containers but do not land. They drop their cargo and return to their place of origin.

Kyle’s expression is priceless.

Zipline Airport Muhanga. Amazing to watch how the drones land, are taken apart, reassembled and are ready for the next delivery in a very short amount of time.

Pushing a button sends the drone on its mission of mercy.

A much-needed visit

Claudine is spending a few weeks with her grandmother for the first time since covid in 2020. Claudine is now 17 years old. Imagine this gram carrying this child to Urukundo when she was 3 years old. Claudine, who was blind, was small for her age because she was suffering from malnutrition.

What a difference the years have made in her life!