Kitchen update

The kitchen project has become a hope made real.

The long-awaited and needed kitchen project is in progress. I was beginning to think it would not happen in my lifetime.

The first step was building a place to cook while the project was in progress.

That is done.

The second step was moving kitchen equipment to the new building.

Shelves had to move. It is good that we have strong young men to do the moving.

In it goes.

Garden fresh vegetables, carrots, beets, peppers, onions and tree tomatoes.

Bulk foods came next.

Heavy load.

Maize flour, rice and beans.

Setting the perimeters.

Demolition started with removing the roof.

The building was taken down one brick at a time. We salvage as many building materials as possible.

Where did the old kitchen go? It is gone.

Construction has begun. Digging the foundation.

Construction so far on Feb. 23.

Kitchen Feb. 26. Making progress.

February Visitors

Sisters Lisa and Lena Wesnz are teachers from Germany. They visited for a few hours. We do hope they come back when they can spend more time.

Amelia Clark, who arrived from Florida, USA, last month, has settled in and is doing a great job in the library activity room and the daycare. Amelia has preschool and daycare experience. Her three months serving as a volunteer is a blessing to the Urukundo Foundation.

In addition, a team of 12 volunteers from Hebron Church, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA arrived for a week of service at Urukundo. Projects they participated in included: worship, daycare, preschool, primary school, music, Mama and Baby Project, dentistry, accounting, photography, sewing, painting, construction and other service. Twelve individuals with diverse talents made a real impact.

Urukundo’s Director Jean Marie, along with Urukundo’s bus, met the Hebron Church volunteers at the Kigali International Airport and transported them to Urukundo Village.

Settling in at the guest house

Daycare and sharing

Love is what matters.

Working with little ones at the daycare is an added joy for both the babies and volunteers.

Dental Clinic

Visitor Dr. John, right, and Dentist Irene converse.

Margie sorted clothes at Mama and Baby House

John observed in the classroom for Preschool Level 3. These students will be first graders next September.

Hebron team leader Bruce experiences the farm as presented to the children. Chicken, dog, and rabbit. There was a goat, but she must have been camera-shy.

Paul, a professional painter, painted Urukundo-style. On his knees. What a guy!

Assembly and music

The Urukundo Learning Center presented an assembly with music as the main focus.

Rob was invited to play the drums.

The kids loved it.

After a very busy week, the team took a side trip to visit the Drone Zipline and the King's Palace.

Urukundo wishes to extend our thanks to these volunteers.

Message from Mama

Volunteers are a large part of why Urukundo is a success.

What a delight it is for me to be able to share this beautiful country and its people by offering a bit of the culture and the countryside as you travel to different tour sites!

It is my pleasure to welcome volunteers to work with Urukundo’s many projects. Short-term or long-term, you can make a difference.

Come, learn, teach, share and enjoy.

Mama

January Newsletter

I start the New Year by being grateful and thanking all who shared in the

Urukundo Advent calendar for 2023.

The list includes the following: Stephen Bauman; Lucia Gloddy;  Nina Wilson; Henry and Carla Biaggi; Bruce and Margie Krogh; Pastor Carolyn Nunnally; Pastor Henry Knapp; Ellie Benna; Pastor Rebecca Holland; Pastor Jason Schwartzman; Connie Cousins; Pastor Lori Betsworth; Calvin Phillips; Pastor Ann Runnels; Pastor Caitlin Werth; Mary and Bill Vandivier; Forest Hills Rotary; Churchill-Wilkins Rotary; Bob Dove; Hillary Deckard; Nathan Sutherland; Ruth Cox; Terry Masch; Jeanne Willis; Jane O’Conner and friends; Donna Timblin; Maynard and Betty Grunstra; Mill Creek United Methodist Church; Phelps Chapel United Methodist Church; Richard and Joyce Johnson; Ward Yorks; and Kevin St. Marin.

Thank you, one and all.

It is my hope that as you opened each day you learned a bit more about the Urukundo Foundation and the love we share.

Moving forward on the kitchen

Finally, the much-delayed replacement of the kitchen will take place. We are demolishing the old kitchen and building a new one in the same place.

Rebuilding the kitchen should be simple but not so. While we are rebuilding, we also must cook for our staff and our many students. It was necessary to find a temporary kitchen while the improvements are in progress.

Our solution: A new structure is being built for a temporary kitchen. After the new kitchen is completed, the building for the temporary kitchen will be used for utility and storage purposes.

The above photo shows people working on the roof of the new building. On the right are the daycare center and guesthouse.

The above photo shows how close the existing kitchen, at left, is to the temporary kitchen, at right. They are separated by the propane tank.

One of two tiki huts and a huge tree already have been removed to make way for the new building.

We are almost ready to move the old kitchen to its temporary quarters.

Demolition of the old kitchen starts soon. A team is coming in February from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, to take part in the new construction. We look forward to working with them.

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.