Land for New School & Bathrooms

Arlene Brown (aka Mama Arlene) founded Urukundo Home in Gitarama, Rwanda following the genocide. Little by little she managed to build the home to where 54 children now live. Older children attend boarding schools and college, returning home for school breaks and vacations. 300 children from the community attend K-5 school at Urukundo.

Land adjacent to the home became available to purchase. The price for the two parcels of land (2+ acres) and homes was $85,000 USD. While Urukundo was able to obtain $30,000 in commitments from donors, they would need to borrow the remaining $55,000 to make it work. Unfortunately, banks in Rwanda charge 19% interest on property loans making that options unrealistic. So The World Orphan Fund provided a 0% interest loan for $55,000 over 30 months, and they paid it back two months early!

Additionally, we provided a grant for the construction of a six-stall bathroom for the older children at the existing school, that allows for the facilities to be separated by age group.