January visitor

Amelia Clark is from Florida. She originally was from the United Christian Parish in Reston, Virginia, USA, where we met through a mutual friend, Dr. Kathy Kelley. Amelia arrived on Jan. 11 and will stay until March 27.

Amelia has preschool and daycare experience. She has come as a volunteer and will work with daycare manager Anita and the teachers.

On her first Saturday at Urukundo, Amelia viewed the decorations at the Urukundo Wedding Center, located in the Hopemadereal (HMR) House.

On her first day helping, Amelia met Desire, the librarian, and Anurette, the dean of discipline.

Amelia has hit the ground running.

Upcoming special week

An important week is coming up in November 2024.

Paying attention to a newscaster today on the Internet, I discovered that there is a week set aside each year as International Education Week. In November 2023, the week’s theme was celebrating international partnerships. This was welcome news to me.

The news story was about a person raising money for desks and donating them to a classroom for students who did not have desks to write on.

You, Urukundo’s dear friends, have gone far beyond that gift. Since Urukundo Learning Center had its beginning, you have supplied more than 1,000 desks and have built the classrooms for the desks. More than 1,000 children have benefited. That was just the beginning. Because of you, 41 qualified teachers have jobs. The school has textbooks, a playground, sports equipment, a library with books, educational toys, computers and a computer lab. I take this opportunity to say thank you.

International Education Week this year is Nov. 18-22. Urukundo’s goal for 2024-25 is to construct a gymnasium. It means dreaming a new dream and setting a new goal. We would have two years to raise funds toward that construction in the hope we could break ground on Nov. 18, celebrating this year’s International Education Week.

Are you up to the challenge?

In Rwanda, an indoor gym where sports can be played no matter what the weather is a dream and for the Urukundo Foundation a new goal.

Gift from a friend

James is a 10-year-old student in Pennsylvania, USA, who shared his love of rocks with our students.

James sent several books along with his photo.

He also sent a message.

Our elementary Grade 6 kids are sending messages to James with Amelia when she returns to the USA in March.

One of their messages reads:

Dear James,

We would like to thank you for the interesting books you have sent to us and we are proud of you. We also thank you for your generosity in giving books to African children located in Rwanda.

Bonette, Lucky, Pacific

Urukundo Learning Center

Urukundo students find the crystals most interesting.

Library news

Urukundo has opened a new department connected to the library.

Thanks to the Keating family in Philadelphia, USA, and others, our ever-expanding library has added a section for activities that are fun as well as educational, such as matching games, puzzles and building materials.

Matching game

Building activities

Puzzles. Table for older learners and the floor for younger learners.

Very high. As high as you can reach.

Doesn’t look very stable.

Magnets for building

Message from Mama

With the addition of tourism to our package, Urukundo is a great place to spend time as a volunteer and make a difference in the lives of children as well as to vacation in beautiful Rwanda.

National Geographic agrees. Come visit Urukundo Village and experience Kigali City, including the Genocide Memorial, Volcanoes National Park (gorillas), Akagera National Park (African animals), Nyungwe National Park,(rainforest), the Zipline drones and King’s Palace Museum.

King’s Palace is my favorite. The palace is a reconstruction of the traditional royal residence. The palace is a reconstruction of the traditional royal residence. It is a beautifully crafted, thatched dwelling shaped like a beehive.

I look forward to an active 2024.

Much love,

Mama

December newsletter

A late November visitor

Dr. Martin Seiwald from Austria accompanied our dear friend Dr. Otto Fischer, also from Austria, on Otto’s November visit to Urukundo.

Dr. Martin is a retired general practitioner. He was most welcome. Dr. Otto is a doctor of veterinary medicine who is co-founder of a veterinary hospital in Rwanda.

Another friend of Dr. Otto’s named Barbara visited days later, and I forgot the camera. I have no photo. She also was a welcome visitor and is now a new friend.

In addition, Angelique Westmark from Dusseldorf, Germany, was a late-November-into-December visitor. This was her fifth visit.

Angelique took three of our girls on a trip to the Butare National Museum and places near Butar. Here are Diane, Joyce, Angelique and Benita.

Diane,Joyce, Angelique and Benita

A first-time adventure for our girls.

Learning is part of every experience. Diane was brave and met the challenge. She sat for a lesson on how to weave a pot. This looks more like a top for the pot sitting near the workspace.

Learning Center

These children won the reading competition for grades 1 through 3. They were amazing.

Music director Emanuel accompanies our band on the newly acquired trombone.

On Dec. 14, our school was awarded a certificate of thanks and appreciation because of our excellent performance in national exams last academic year.

Director Jean Marie and Headmaster Viateur Ntwari accepted the award for the foundation. Our students and teachers are to be congratulated for a job well done.

Birthday No. 93

Yep, I had another birthday. My 93rd. Imagine 93 years old and still kicking! I had decided “no more celebrating my birthday” and then I reconsidered. It was a good decision as it got me the perfect birthday gift from friends at my home church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA –  St. John’s-Newberry United Methodist Church. The gift was from Kent and Irene; Keith and Elaine; and Mary Ruth as well as my family. A recliner! Thank you all.

It was worth one more birthday celebration. This met an important health need: getting the legs up while resting. Who would have thought? Age?

The celebration continued.

My birthday gift from Urukundo employees.

What a wonderful gift to me and Urukundo’s lawn garden! Rest and relax.

The wood furniture that was once in my living room works well on the lawn. The perfect area for me to meet and greet visitors to the daycare and the offices during the early morning. Love it. Come for tea and enjoy with me.

And more birthday

My birthday was on a Saturday. The weekends are quiet at Urukundo. Our employees are home with their families. I was sure the birthday was over.

Monday came, and all was quiet. A few stopped with a birthday greeting but work went on as usual. I moved from my office around 3 p.m. to the living room. My mistake. From the living room, I cannot see the activity taking place in front of the office.

At 4 p.m. my front door opened, and an invasion took place.

I should not have been, but I was totally surprised.

An unbelievable cake

Lots of help cutting the cake

What a lovely message!

Christmas trees at Urukundo

In the yard

In the family room

Finally after 15 years, there is a new tree for Urukundo at Christmas. It has lights, tinsel and a star. The hand-carved nativity scenes are so special.

In my office

The crystal bird is new. She has a pink heart in her beak and was a gift to me from my visit to New Mexico for my daughter Solange’s wedding.

Community children's Christmas party.

The only day available for the gathering was Sunday afternoon. The party was in the same building where we worship. Problem? Oh yeah! The party was to be at 2 p.m. This would give us time to worship (10 a.m. to noon) and then prepare the room for the party.

Kids started coming at 9 am. Many (about 200) came into worship and stayed.

They kept coming.The day was getting hot. We had to get the kids out of the sun.

Even though we were not ready, around 12:30 p.m., we opened the doors, letting them come in. The children were our main concern.

In total, about 1,100 children and young adults attended.

We had a plan. Yes, we did. Plans do not always work. Last year, showing the movie on the wall did not work, so we purchased a screen.

Great. We had chosen “The Sound of Music” to be the movie. Well, it was scratched so badly that it would not play. Instead, we played a movie of Christmas songs in a sing-a-long.

The children sang and danced.

The kids enjoyed it.

OK. Now the kids were hungry. We gave out cookies.

Mamas with small babies and children lined up to receive a gift before journeying home.

Director Jean Marie directed traffic to get gifts and lollipops. Once a gift was received, the guests exited the building.

Happy kids outside having received a gift.

Leaving the party. Paper and lollipop wrappers litter the area. Hope the wind doesn’t start to blow!

Clean up, clean up. All the staff pitched in, and it was done quickly.

We prepared gifts for 900. We were happy to have an estimated 1,100. We distributed the gifts according to age from babies up. Running out of gifts was not in the plan. The older kids received no gift but did get another pack of biscuits and a lollipop.

Looking at how this event has grown in an area where kids have so little, I think we need to start preparing for next year now.

Carol Falke, International Board president, is looking and preparing for next year's Christmas. She sent me photos of what she has collected already for Christmas 2024. Thank you, Carol.