Why We Are Starting a New Ministry

We moved from the orphanage and are changing ministries in Rwanda. I thought many of the reasons for the change I could keep private. I don't think I can do that anymore. There are too many questions that our supporters have of why we left so quickly. In the coming notes I hope to spell out some of what led us to this point. Many of you probably don't care to hear this, so feel free not to read. But for those who need to hear reasons for the change I will attempt to present a small bit of why we are no longer at Urukundo and why we now are starting our own private school. I have to warn you. It is messy. It is not easy to look at. Being a Christ follower is often like that. It doesn't always turn out the way you want it. Jesus life was like that. He was an outcast. Even rather barbaric when it came to "fitting in". He made a mess out of societal norms. Please read this with an open heart and know that we are trying to do what God has called us to do. Serve God and serve others.

Our plan was to manage the orphanage for Arlene forever. Arlene was trying to find a successor. She invited us to be just that. What became apparent from day one was that she had changed her mind. She didn't want us here. She didn't want to let go of her leadership. She told everyone around her that this is what she was thinking, but she wouldn't tell us. Even when I confronted her she still wouldn't tell me the truth. The truth is: she didn't want us at Urukundo.

Below is a letter that I submitted to both the American Board of Hope Made Real (fundraising engine) and the International Board of Urukundo:

This letter was sent on September 28th, 2010 after much prayer and struggle. It got to the point where we could no longer manage the orphanage because of so much interference. The children's welfare was at stake and we needed to desperately find a solution to some critical problems.

Here's the letter:



I submitted my resignation letter with dignity and honor a few weeks ago. I assumed that if I took the high road that the same would be for Arlene. Unfortunately that has not been the case. I am not sure why I assumed that because from the very beginning there were distressing issues. The most pointed issue is that Arlene never wanted us here in the first place. She changed her mind. Her invitation for us to come and "take over" for her should have been revoked. But it wasn't. Let me paint a picture of what life was like from the first day that I , Todd, moved to Urukundo in Rwanda.


The first issue was fundraising: How were my wife and I to fundraise to support ourselves so we would not be a burden to Urukundo? I have, in writing, a policy that we would fundraise either by having donors send money to Urukundo or we could choose another path apart from Urukundo. This email was sent to me long before my arrival April 29th, 2010. Then the problems started appearing, one day it was ok to fundraise for our personal support and the next it was not ok. Finally everything seemed settled. We could raise money and Urukundo would send our monthly support with the monthly Urukundo wire.

We would make purchases in preparation for moving to Rwanda and we would hand in those receipts to be reimbursed by our personal account that Hope Made Real had (this was before we moved). Problems arose quickly once we started turning in receipts. We were questioned about the necessity of certain items. We bought a health insurance policy and submitted receipts to HMR. Arlene became unglued that we “wasted” our money on insurance. She said if “we lived our life by faith” we would not need health insurance. We somehow got over this hurdle and I left for Rwanda.

My first week here I asked about how much money we had accumulated in our fundraising account. Arlene said that she would give me a few hundred dollars to use to get set up but that the rest of the money must remain in the Urukundo “pot” to be used at her discretion. We had over $5000 sent by that first month and we saw less than $1000. These were designated gifts for our support. They were clearly marked with the method that was agreed upon. The issue was never whether the money was designated for us. The issue was whether Arlene would allow us to have the money that was given to us.

I immediately called our church and set up a fundraising account through them. When Arlene became aware that no more money was coming into Urukundo through our campaign she told us that we needed to pay rent, internet, and for food. I laughed and said that there should be enough in our account to cover a couple of years of these expenses. She later gave me a piece of paper (I still have it today) that shows that she spent all of the $5000 (some of it was spent to build us our room that we are living in) except for $1600. She said this is what is left of your account to date but I don’t have it to give to you!

When Arlene invited us to move permanently to Urukundo back in August 2009 it was to take over for her as she realized that she was getting older and needed to find a successor: she wrote: “ I need to know I am leaving Urukundo and the children in the hands of someone who Shares the vision, Loves the Lord and Loves the children.” So we began to sell everything we had in hopes that the reality of what she wrote would come true. She also shared with us that the toughest part of the job would be “dealing with her” and “her letting go of leadership and control”.

So it came as a big surprise when the rumors flew around Urukundo that Arlene was talking to people on Skype late at night telling them that she wanted us gone. She had changed her mind and that it wasn’t working out having us be the operational managers and the next leaders of Urukundo. The walls are very thin in her house. A whisper can be heard in the next room so it didn’t surprise me that everyone had heard her conversations. Four different volunteers who stayed up in Arlene’s house gave us the same report with two weeks of one another. They were so alarmed with what they heard they were fearful to tell us because they thought we were terrible people.

Arlene left for America. Before she left she sat us down and said that we should consider some other ministry down the road. That we should get a house away from Urukundo and until then we should pay for room and board. This was a jaw dropper! I thought this was going to be a long term commitment but the truth was coming out.

Shortly after Arlene’s departure our volunteer nurse, Nancy, who stayed for the 3.5 months while Arlene was stateside came to us one morning and said that she had talked to Arlene the night before and Arlene was regretful for bringing us over. It had all been a big mistake. I immediately called Arlene on Skype (this was a couple of weeks into her tour). I confronted her on what Nancy had reported and on what everyone had heard directly from her mouth. Arlene said that she did not say that to Nancy. Nancy had misinterpreted what was said. All the others were guilty of eaves dropping and there was no truth to what they said. Arlene did say that she had some “concerns” about us but that she was 100% sure that we were suppose to be there. I told her that we needed to be honest with one another and bring concerns directly to each other and not through the rumor mill. She agreed....at least that is what she said.

When I checked with the staff on what was going on I found out that even before I arrived Arlene was regretful of me (us) coming. They held meetings to help Arlene figure out how she could get “out of this” mess.

We started to believe everyone else, except Arlene, that she had second thoughts about letting us lead and that she really was not comfortable with us here. We even heard that Arlene had a meeting with Meredith, Louise and Nancy to give them the responsibility to “keep an eye on us”. We had heard enough we certainly weren’t wanted here. So we began to pray about what God wanted us to do. Some wonderful ministry opportunities began to appear out of nowhere. Soon we realized that we were very thankful to Urukundo for the opportunity to come to Rwanda but that we were being called to another ministry.

The Hope Made Real board met while Arlene was in America and discussed (without mentioning names) that someone was using the Hope Made Real logo and pictures of the Urukundo children to do personal fundraising. Arlene stated that this was emphatically “wrong”! and that she would make corrective actions when she returned to Urukundo. Again, I have in writing, from an email last April that all of this was ok for us to do.

The straw that broke the “camels back” was when Arlene saw on my Facebook account that we were spending some nights in Kigali (this was the second week of Sept.) with friends (the Halonen’s were in town for 1 week and sponsor two of Urukundo’s secondary school children). Arlene posted on my facebook “who is minding the children?” She was implying that we left the place unattended and that the welfare of the children were in jeopardy because we were in Kigali. Arlene began to email staff and others to let them know the children were in harms way and that they needed to get to Urukundo immediately. I immediately closed my account to “non friends” so they could not view my pictures and posts. Arlene reacted to my action and began sending me desperate emails that “I was not doing what I was suppose to be doing.”

We sent out the letter of resignation saying we were very thankful for this opportunity. We did our best to honor Arlene and not bring up any of the issues that had been so distressing. No sooner than the letter of resignation was out and we had Meredith and Louise (Urukundo Board Members living in Rwanda) and our volunteer nurse, Nancy, interfering often on the day to day operations on the campus. Decisions were being made by these three often without my knowledge that either directly affected the operations of this campus or that were frankly none of their business. Before the letter of resignation was sent Louise and Meredith had both individually told me that they were going to keep their distance so that Andria and I could lead with our own style and have the freedom to make changes without their influence or without the appearance that Arlene would be told.

Within hours of my letter both woman were here (especially Meredith) almost continually. Meredith was having meetings with mamas and children directing them on what she wanted done sometimes directly contradicting something that we had just said. There was no regard for our leadership all of a sudden. Louise called Emmy while I was standing next to him. She asked him where the Toyota Surf was because she noticed it gone the Sunday morning before. Emmy was so embarrassed that he had to give an explanation of where the vehicle was to a board member who has no authority on aspects of operations.

Today, Sept. 28th, Louise took one of our little boys, Laki, for the day. The policy up to this day had been that this was forbidden. We had, in fact, lost Ezekiel to this policy, because his care giver, the head of the prison child placement, wanted to take him for the day but we could not allow it. So Lousie came and took Laki with no paper work. Arlene had given the ok. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Louise would do anything bad, but trying to enforce policies that change from day to day are very difficult.

Then came the manipulative emails and skype conversations where it was obvious that Arlene was not trusting our leadership. She had told me that she wanted us to stay until her return Oct. 12th. Then she wrote that she was happy that I was honoring my agreement to Urukundo and staying for at least a week after her return so that she could recover from jet lag and so that the impact would not be so harsh on the children. Nothing like that had ever been agreed. I was told that I do not have the children’s safety or welfare in my actions. She has even said that I have fallen away from God.

Arlene became VERY curious about what our future plans were. She would ask me in round about ways what we would be doing after Urukundo. She sent emails to the staff asking for their input: “had they heard anything?” She became a little obsessed over the matter to the point of being annoying.


Then Hope Made Real turned off my email address todd@hopemadereal.org. At first I figured it must be a mistake so I waited for one week. Again I tried to log on and it said “access denied”. How was I suppose to be the Operational manager without my email address? Or maybe at least a week or two notice that they were shutting it down.....

I finally had enough of her speculation: I sent an email to Arlene and said that we would stay until her return (if she wanted) but would be moved out of Urukundo on Oct. 12th, her return date. We would stop by and drop off the keys to the safe when she got back (we will be at the airport dropping of an Urukundo guest that evening so will probably miss her arrival). I also said that Emmy, who has been with her for over two years, will know all the details of what has transpired and will be able to provide a smooth transition. I also said that I would respond only to emails from this point forward. If she had any questions please email them to me. Too much had been misconstrued over the past few months and I wanted things in writing again so that we could refer to them in concrete ways.

So today (Sept 28th), I went with Emmy to make the electronic deposit for our payroll. Most of our staff are paid electronically so they receive their money directly into their bank accounts. I was told that my name was off the account and that no transactions that require signatures would be able to be made! Fortunately I had received the wire already so we had enough money to survive on but it really made it embarrassing to try to explain to the bank why this would happen. The banker and long time friend of Urukundo just looked at us with a puzzled look as we stood there with our payroll cash ready to make a deposit that would never happen. We will have to give our people cash this week. I am sure they will all wonder why.

So I am left with a dilemma. I would like to stay and honor my commitment in my resignation but I can not under these circumstances. Arlene’s history of lack of trust and gossip have made it impossible to operate Urukundo with integrity: because of the constant meddling of the three people stated above and because of Arlene’s actions to undermine our authority with the bank, cutting off our email without notice and constantly talking to our volunteers about us.

The only way that I could see us staying until October 12th is if Arlene tells the three people to stay out of the operations of Urukundo (to not interfere in the day to day business) and if she sends us an email saying that she is sorry for the lack of trust and that she will do everything to support us in our efforts. She also needs to send an email to Innocent at Fina Bank restoring his confidence in me by apologizing for her error of judgment. Can’t we find a peaceful solution with us leaving?? God is calling us to another ministry. Period. All the speculation needs to end.

We will give Arlene 24 hours to respond and let us know what she wants us to do. I know that Meredith, Louise and Nancy (along with Emmy) would do a fine job continuing to use their expertise until Arlene’s return. They have been trying to run Urukundo ever since I sent our letter of resignation. If I don’t hear anything within 24 hours I will assume that means that we are not needed any longer as operational managers.

Again, I am very sorry that it has come to this. I have only shared the very “tip of the ice berg” of examples of distressing events. If you would like more, I can provide them.

It has been getting progressively difficult to manage Urukundo with everything that is transpiring. I hear one thing one day from Arlene and then the opposite thing the next. I finally took her off my skype because it becomes so confusing!

If anyone would like copies of emails of past promises or if you have any questions regarding ANY of our actions, I am very open to answering them. The financials will be ready soon and I will make sure Arlene has an opportunity to ask questions and understand everything we have done in the past 3.5 months.

We are not perfect and I am sure we have made our share of mistakes the past few months but I will not continue down this path of dishonesty and character assassination. Yes, I have read some of her emails to people that borders on character assassination. Enough is enough. What ever way we leave Urukundo we will do it with our head held high that we did it as best we could.

Sincerely,

Todd Ellingson

We never heard from Arlene on these issues. We stayed until Arlene returned. She continued to spread false accusations about us and our lack of care for the children.


Here's another email that I sent to some of my key supporters (I edited slightly). This was an email addressing confusion on some people's part on what was going on here in Rwanda. Why were we changing ministries:

The thing that gets me is that I could give you volumes of why not to support Urukundo. Everything from illegal hiring of employees to 32 of the children are not orphaned. We have mislead the government and others that we have all orphans. Most of the children have parent(s) that have chosen an "easy" route to give them to the "Americans" to raise. This to is very much an ethical/legal dilemma in Rwanda. I chose not to bring all of this out into the light. I feel like the whistle blower who is being punished for telling the truth! What I have found is so bad that I am embarrassed to have ever given to and believed in Urukundo. So what am I suppose to do? Do I tell everything to everyone?? I thought that by sharing some of this with key supporters that you would see the truth and would go to bat for me. Obviously that has not happened. I had no idea what was going on here at Urukundo until I arrived...so what was I suppose to do?

Arlene became so ugly to us that I finally wrote some of what happened into a letter and sent it to both of her boards. Her international board was appalled. She is going to have to answer to them at the next board meeting. She accused us of neglecting and not loving the children, of using her name and pictures to personally fund raise (which she told us to do)....we began to have people come out of her past that paint an even more ugly picture of who she is. One guy is Rwandan and leads an orphanage here in Rwanda. They (Arlene and this guy) were partners early on and she swindled $1,000's from him. Many, many other stories that have ALL been confirmed and paint a very disturbing picture.

Yes, I can see why it is confusing people. I have people very close to her, some still employed by her that want to leave. They actually want to come and work for us. I don't want to be accused of stealing her workers but my heart breaks for themand the conditions they are facing. Arlene even hired a lawyer to go after one of her friends because she wanted to own his house so bad. She convinced his family to live in the children's dorms for 2 years and promised to pay him for rent of his house. She didn't pay one dime to him!! Not one penny the entire time that she used his house. And some how she thought she had a right to own his house! The lawyer, a board member, told Arlene that she had no case against him!

We lost two boys while Arlene was in the U.S. Both of them came from the prison system. Both could have remained at Urukundo had it not been for Arlene's stubbornness and her disregard for the law. She refused to let them go and visit their mothers in prison!! She went against the governments direct mandate that they need to see their parent(s) often. You can't restrict children from this activity. It is ILLEGAL. So what did she do. She dug in her heals. We even had the program director of the Prison Placement Program at Urukundo to clear up the matter and Arlene still said no. Arlene will have to answer to her actions now. The government will do an investigation. The boys are gone for ever. One boy was even put in an orphanage down the road that is willing to follow the law. Children's welfares are at stake!

Go to www.carwanda3.blogspot.com. It is a website that one group created to try to expose Arlene's dishonesty. It is a group that is led by the former president of her board! He has knowledge of the inside dealings of Urukundo and Hope Made Real. He gave $58,000 to build Hope House (he raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years for Urukundo). When he arrived at Urukundo for the dedication he asked for an accounting of the money. The building was suppose to be two story. It was one. He was promised certain things that never happened. THe structure that was built was not even close to a $58,000 building. He was very angry. He had brought groups to Urukundo for that past three years. He himself had been there six times. He wanted to know where his donations were going but he wasn't given answers. He wrote a letter to Arlene that I have included below. I don't even know this group, but much of what they say is true. If you read the letter that the group wrote to Arlene most of the terrible conditions they describe are actually true. We had NO idea things were this bad until we lived there. It's hard to see these things when you are a short term guest. Having lived there we got to see things first hand.

We were SO concerned that we actually considered contacting Hillie's (the newest baby) father and trying to adopt him!! That is how concerned we are for his safety. We know that he will lay in his crib and cry far too long before anyone comes to his aid. We know that he will continue to get bites from bugs that crawl on him at night even though he has a net over him. We know that his diaper won't get changed in a timely manner most days. So, how could we leave this??? How could we leave these children to face this every day (and believe me it is bad..)? It ate us up! It was the hardest decision ever. We tried everything to improve things.

One of the things that made me decide most of all to leave Urukundo was what it was doing to our marriage. Andria and I were slowly growing apart over the stress at Urukundo. It was toxic there! It was so unhealthy that it began to eat at us individually and at our marriage. We tried our BEST to talk to Arlene and the board. Nothing had an impact. We didn't have any authority. All the while our marriage began to suffer. Some of you knew about this and were praying for us. Others began to pull away from us assuming that we were "doing our own thing". We began to feel isolated from some of our supporters.

Most would never guess this is the case with Arlene. When she talks you think that you are meeting "Mother Theresa" or something. She is good at getting you to believe in Urukundo and what she is doing. She is deceiving. Designated money isn't going into the proper places. Pricing on projects is grossly over inflated. She treats people like property and not human beings.

Some of you apparently had deep concerns over what we were doing and why? Why were we leaving Urukundo and those beautiful children. I could have easily shared EVERYTHING to you. Why wasn't I asked. NEVER did I receive an email asking to explain our actions. I tried to share as much as I could without going into specifics but apparently that didn't work. I told some of my key supporters/leaders the details in hope that they would share with you. But that didn't work. I don't get it. If all of this was happening why wasn't I asked for an accounting? I would have loved to share the volumes of issues. Here's another one. We are illegally employing people. None of the people we have hired at Urukundo are under contract which is illegal. This is done so that you avoid paying taxes (retirement is one big one) on them. People are so desperate here for jobs that they continue to work without proper compensation.

Do people think we came up to this point flippantly? Again, I don't get it. Did you ever share how we never saw the $5,000 that was raised for us? We never saw it!! Arlene wouldn't give it to us because she wanted it. These were designated gifts given in our name that she used at her own discretion. She told me point blank that she spent all of our money without consulting us or letting us know what was going on...Money that was being raised for US was not getting to us. Doesn't this concern someone?

When Andria's home church learned what was going on they adjusted . They changed everything. When they learned of what was going on here they decided not to use Arlene at their church when she was in Phoenix on her tour. They filmed an interview that will never air. They quickly acted. They supported us and their pastor said "these things happen often. Overseas missions work is a dynamic organism. Things that appear to be, often or not what they seem". He then went out of his way to make sure we were ok and supported. He told us that he has story after story of similar situations that have happened with other missionaries. Change happens. Period.

Things are looking so good here at our new location. We have three groups already booked here to come and do a football clinic in the public schools, VBS in the public schools and a medical clinic both in the schools and on our property. Apparently some people have faith that what we are doing is what God wants us to do.

The misunderstandings could have been avoided. We should have communicated better and more specifically with EVERYONE. I am sorry for the confusion. Please forgive me.

I hope you understand that things like this happen. We didn't want it to happen but it has. We believe God is opening up new doors for us to use for His Kingdom.

Below is a letter from the former President of Hope Made Real. I have never met the people who wrote it. But I do find that many of their issues raised were important. When we first read this letter we thought it was way out of line with the issues it raises. Now having lived at Urukundo for 5 months we can honestly say that these issues need to be addressed.

February 3, 2010
Mama Arlene Brown Urukundo Home for Children BP 179 Muhanga District, Rwanda
Dear Arlene-
We are grateful for the week the Lord allowed us to spend in Rwanda and with the children of Urukundo. The week provided many highs and lows and we are deeply grateful for what the Lord revealed to us. As you said on Friday morning, January 29, 2010, the Lord sent us to expose the theft perpetrated by Chantal so you could deal effectively with an Urukundo employee regularly engaging in stealing. Based upon your view of the Lord using us to assist you in dealing with an employee situation, we believe the Lord is also using us to highlight challenges and concerns at Urukundo.
WE are Christians. We are fully—and unabashedly—committed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and place Him FIRST above the world. It was Jesus the Christ who instructed his followers to go to one-another when one strays from His calling. Mama Arlene, it is in the calling of, and spirit of, our Lord and Savior that we come to you and lift-up the deep concerns we observed at Urukundo while we were there last week. Here are our concerns:
Displaying a Cross in the “Worship Center”: This was introduced to us on our first day as the "WORSHIP CENTER." Later the name seemed change to the "Hope House," and in the most recent Newsletter, you have called it the “Multi-Purpose Center.” This is greatly disheartening and does not honor Christ in any way. Comments from you included, “We can't put a Cross up because we have to make money off this building.” The discussion, with John in front of us, was that we are Christians and we should be proud of that fact. Afterall, we believe the ONLY reason there is a new building is because Jesus permitted it. John expressed his thoughts in front of ALL of us, "There would be no problem putting up a cross.” To deny Jesus Christ in order to make a profit is simply abandoning Him. This is wrong and stands opposed to the founding mission of Urukundo Christian Home for Children. Furthermore, we feel duped in being asked to “cut the ribbon” of a Worship Center only to find out a week later (on the HMR Website) that this facility is NOT a Worship Center honoring Jesus Christ, but a simple Multi-Purpose Center honoring “man.”
Welfare of Urukundo Children: It appears that too much money is being re-directed from child welfare and is being used to build more poor quality buildings. Urukundo has too many children and they are not being cared for properly. Older children are housed in a crowded nursery, House Mamas do nothing to maintain order and prevent the children from harm, boys and girls have engaged in “romance” activities, and alcohol and drunkenness have invaded Urukundo. It scares us to think that, given current conditions, a pregnancy is a distinct possibility.
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The children are “hurt” and feel as though they are being ware-housed, not loved. Sister, you should
not build more buildings until Urukundo can take proper care of the children currently in residence. The children are changing and are hurting for the lack of love, structure, and discipline.
There are no mosquito nets over the children’s beds. The laws of Rwanda, which regulate Orphanages and Homes for Children, require mosquito nets over all beds and cribs. These must be purchased—and deployed—immediately. The nets are much less expensive and painful than a child contracting malaria.
The amount of money needed to sponsor a child must be substantiated. $600 a year is more than the average person in Rwanda earns and significantly, more than some other Homes/Orphanages in Rwanda request for sponsorship—and those places are providing quality care. The question of where the money is going must be answered for existing and potential sponsors. The lack of accounting for the $600 sponsorship cannot continue and it erodes faith in Urukundo.
Welfare of Urukundo Babies: We observed babies being picked up by one arm or one leg from their cribs or other locations. We witnessed this many times and the children were clearly uncomfortable—if not scared and in pain by this behavior. There is little to no stimulation for the babies. During the day, babies are just carried around, and developmental toys were not available—yet we know there have been toys sent to Urukundo. In particular, we observed Sarah being set on the porch without any supervision. Sarah then fell off the porch backwards and landed on her back with her head off the edge. Finally, babies are allowed to go to bed with their bottles and continue “hanging on” to their bottles all day, etc which will rot their teeth. These are examples of child abuse.
Food Quality – Since we served at Urukundo in 2008, we have witnessed a serious degradation in meal quality being served to the children. The biggest change we’ve noticed is now there is little or no protein in the meals being served. Beans—a source of protein—are provided only occasionally. Outside of the Samboosa, and one or two days with beans, we saw no protein for supper or lunch. We are at a loss as to why the children are not receiving protein.
As you have shared with us, plenty of chickens and eggs are located at Urukundo—why not use them? What purpose are the goats, etc. at the Farm if they are not feeding the children? We also observed that the children are not provided with drinks at meals. In 2008, the children were served tea with all meals. Again, since our visit in March 2008, vitamins did not appear to be given to children. Vitamins which were sent to Urukundo three years ago are still sitting on the shelf in the Clinic. Every supper and lunch we attended had rice, potatoes, and some kind of bananas—no greens and no protein. Additionally, fruit was not always available to the children. The appearance is that Urukundo is not spending the necessary funds to properly feed the children and that the funds necessary to adequately feed the children is being re-directed to construction.
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Hygiene: Children are wearing the same clothing during the day, sleeping at night in the clothing, and not changing for several days at a time—we observed some girls wearing the same clothes since Saturday when we arrive—through Thursday—our last full day. Children were not bathing for an entire week and then, of course they, had no hot water. Basic human hygiene must be taught and it should be stressed to the children. Future leaders of Rwanda should be given these most basic skills—and then required to maintain themselves properly. It was not lost on us that the boils and other skin conditions may have been the result of dirty bodies.
The nursery smells horribly of urine, to the point of nausea when the door is opened in the morning. This is unhealthy for the lungs—as well as the bodies—of the children. There was a significant amount of flies in the nursery area as compared to the rest of the house. The flies stayed on the children and were rather aggressive.
There were no diapers on non-potty trained children. We observed—and it was accepted among the staff—the children pulling down their pants and urinating and defecating on the floor. After this, we observed children walking in the urine and feces. When there were diapers used, from our observation, the diapers were changed only once a day. The beds and cribs in which the babies sleep were urine soaked and the children were lying in it.
But for our insistence, the bath water would not have been changed between children. Water must be changed between each baby’s bath. It is appalling to see the brown/black bath water and to know that upon our departure children are bathing in reused water.
Another danger to the children is the livestock wondering the property where children live and play. While we called this to your attention, we’re confident that upon our departure—and in the absence of “supervision”—livestock were wandering the property. Additionally, the farmer should be made to clean up the dung when he, inappropriately, allows these animals to wander Urukundo property.
Discipline: There appears to be no discipline at Urukundo. Children are not expected to adhere to a code of conduct because there simply isn’t one. As we observed the children, their days, and their interactions, it was clearly apparent that no boundaries are set. For example, there was a food fight at the table one night during our stay at Urukundo. Another day one child was witnessed “flipping the bird” to another. We observed children throwing trash around the property, and destroying various Urukundo assets.
Manners—and common decency as experienced in 2008—are nonexistent in the dining area. Children are eating with their fingers—potential future leaders of Rwanda don’t eat with their fingers. We advocate—similar to 2008—that an adult be assigned for every two tables, assign seats for the children, thereby allowing the Urukundo leader to know who is at dinner and who is not at dinner. Additionally, adults need to observe what the children eat, making sure they get a balanced diet.
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Another negative change since 2008 is mealtime participation of the children. We believe you should
demand children are present for the pre-meal song and prayer at each meal. Children should be assigned chores, including cleaning, and growing a garden. Urukundo should rent the top of the mountain for a large garden, work said garden, and sell the produce that is not needed at Urukundo. When the work commences in the garden the children who work in the gardens should place some of the profits in their own bank account. This will give them life skills to help feed them and the current farmer can be utilized to help teach the children about farming. Perhaps an acre of ground can go into coffee trees?
Instead of hearing, “The table is set,” perhaps a dinner bell being rung prior to the song and grace to everyone for meals and any other gatherings would be better. There is no authority “walking the grounds.” The children know it and do whatever they please—and this is dangerous.
The children should not be wandering in and out for church and special events.
A schedule should be developed which includes physical activities and chores. When school is not in session, the children should be participating in learning activities and using the library—beyond the false pictures of activity—shown on the January Hope Made Real Website.
Staff should be reading to the children, having story time for the little ones, and involving the older children in reading to the younger children.
Christian worship should continue on Sunday mornings accompanied with Wednesday evening Bible study. We also advocate for Thursday evening English classes and Story Time on Tuesday evening. Soccer on Monday and Friday would be a worthwhile activity, too. It’s not lost on us that idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Regardless of what the “world” may say, the children of Urukundo are Christian and know Him intimately!
Since non-Christian volunteers have been allowed on the property, we have observed a huge erosion of Christian values and behaviors among the children. They (non-Christian volunteers) attend worship and celebrations but do not actively participate, which sets a poor example for the children. These non- Christians also wander in and out of these Services. Urukundo's original mission was a Christian home for children, not to convert non-Christian volunteers. If this has changed it should be advertised for all to see and understand. It is certainly clear from the text statement on the HMR Website that Urukundo has adopted the “world,” and pushed Jesus The Christ “off the field.”
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Interactions with People and Treatment of Workers. American leadership styles may not apply everywhere, but Christ's leadership style applies everywhere. Christ said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The behavior we observed last week included rudeness, obnoxiousness, and abuse—this was definitely not Christ-like. There were times when we were embarrassed by the behavior exhibited. In the name of our Lord, all people should be treated with respect and dignity.
There is an appearance that the children are being used to coerce money from sponsors. The titles, “Mom” and “Dad” should not be used by children that are sponsored. If for some reason, a sponsorship should have to be dropped, then the child would once again be abandoned. “Mom” and “Dad” are held to a higher standard for people who are present daily in a child’s life. Sponsors should not be made to feel guilty by being called “Mom” or “Dad.” It is too hard on the child to have to a “Mom” or “Dad” who is not present and who may not be here a year from now. Again, this does not honor the titles of “Mother,” and “Father.”
Training for the Mamas – A comprehensive training and ongoing evaluation program must be implemented for the Mamas. Each Mama should be given a set of standards for their behavior and the behavior they are expected to elicit from the children. They then should be shown the proper ways for doing things as simple as giving baths and placing a child in a crib. It is glaringly apparent that the Mamas do not have even basic training in the care of children. Some of them are simply “going through the motions,” and are not truly caring for the children and their safety. They do not engage the older children and they show no ability—or desire—to be the “authority” in the house and having the children live according to a set of standards.
Building – The existing buildings are in poor condition, partially a result of cheap construction. Cracks in walls, electric sockets hanging out of walls, chunks of wall missing in many locations, broken windows (due to cheap glass), lights which don’t work, doors which have holes in them, and in general, the buildings are filthy. Urukundo should not construct another building until such funds are available for quality construction with good quality materials. In the meantime, funds must be expended to repair and maintain the existing assets of Urukundo. The new kitchen opened last year, and during our visit you mentioned it already needs repairs to the tune of $5,000. This is unacceptable and a poor use of the resources Christ has provided to Urukundo.
ALL children should be assigned daily chores to adequately maintain the existing physical plant. The children should be cleaning walls, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning windows, etc.
The most important point is this: Child welfare is paramount; take care of the children first.
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Urukundo Christian Home for Children – When we first began serving Jesus Christ in Rwanda, we served at the Urukundo Christian Home for Children. We even had our receipts stamped, “Urukundo Christian Guest House.” Sometime between the old location and the move to the present location the name changed. It is quite noticeable that the word, “Christian” has been dropped. It is glaringly apparent that Urukundo is not a Christian ministry but an Orphanage entitled, “Urukundo Village.”
Given the name change, and our observations and witness for Christ, we believe all donors should be notified that Urukundo is no longer a Christian mission, but a humanitarian mission. Certainly, all US- based Christian organizations should be informed that Christian is not a word in vogue any longer at Urukundo. Churches and individuals must be given the opportunity to decide whether or not they desire to support a humanitarian mission, which is the current state of Urukundo. Be proud that Urukundo is a humanitarian mission, openly acknowledge this fact, and cease using the Savior’s name to seek money and resources from Christian donors.
It is very clear that Jesus the Christ has been pushed to the side—or simply pushed out—of the original mission. Repeating the words, “God in Charge,” is meaningless based upon our experiences last week. The transformation from Christian mission to humanitarian mission didn’t happen overnight—it was a gradual process. Satan has succeeded in moving the core “mission” from Christ to World.
The aid so many donors have offered was given in the name of Christ. Indeed, non-Christians and some people who are openly anti-Christian have made donations to Urukundo, too. Much of this aid has been received and God was left out of the picture. The issue for us is the primacy of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. He must be acknowledged as a reality, that He IS reality without which nothing can be good.
Urukundo cannot simply detach from Christ—and “hide” under the name of God. Even Satan acknowledges God! Muslims, Buddhists, Hindis all have a god. Their God is NOT the God of the Savior. Urukundo has adopted the God of “all religions” and pushed the God of the world’s Savior to the sideline. If a man or woman’s heart is not good, then nothing else can turn out good either. And the goodness of the human heart can ultimately come only from the One who is goodness, who is the GOOD itself. That is God the Father of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We fully realize the risk being taken by sending this letter. Our Lord took many risks and helped many reclaim the life He meant for them. Mama, we pray you listen to our words with the love of Jesus The Christ as your glasses. Then you will truly understand our intentions and not fall prey to the evil one who will simply have you hate us. Here are some Scriptures for you to consider along with our letter:
Matthew 10:33 Matthew 18: 15-20 John 15:1-17 James 1:19-27 James 4: 13-17 John 14:6 Psalm 23 1 Timothy 6:10 Matthew 7:12 Proverbs 29:15 John 3:16 Proverbs 3:5-6 Matthew 6: 1-4 Matthew 18:1-7
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In Christian Love we are praying for you and Christ’s plan for your life and Urukundo and look forward to
a conversation with you about this letter.
Ed Leslie Sandy Keller Hafner Walker
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So this is, in part, why we are gone from Urukundo. I hope that for those of you who still have questions you will email me and ask. I want to have integrity and accountability in everything we do here in Rwanda. If I have made a mistake, hold me accountable. I pray that God will continue to lead Andria and me.

Todd