Hope Haven March 2015 by Hope Haven Rwanda

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TRIP 3 F I R S TTO FA IC HEI L LD R D E N ’ S H O S P I TA L

H A N D - E Y E C O O R D I N AT I O N C O N TA I N E R A R R I VA L

5 C A M P US P HOTO UP DAT E 7 SUSAN & LESLEE 8

M OT H E R S D AY C A M PA I G N M OT H E R S H E L P I N G M OT H E R S

9 AMAZON SMILE 10 C O N T A C T U S ! © 2 0 1 5 H O P E H AV E N R WA N DA | H O P E H AV E N RWA N DA . O R G |

F I R S T

F I E L D T R I P The Hope Haven students recently took their first field trip ever! Getting to their destination was about two hours over bridges and seeing country sides that they hadn’t ever seen. This was the first time most of our children had ever left their area! The bus trip was fun for them and the time was consumed by singing! The 3rd grade class visited the Relima Children’s Hospital. Milk, biscuits and sweets were brought by Hope Haven. The donation of milk and biscuits was saved for another moment, but our children gave each child there a lollipop. This was huge, as they gave something that they don’t have. Our students were able to dance and sing for the children to lift their spirits. The patients shared their songs with HHR children. This was such a positive experience for our kids to comfort other children who don’t often get visitors.

Photo taken February 2015 by Susan Hollern

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HAND-EYE

Students frequently work in the computer lab to gain fluent technology skills. New to technology, the students work in the art program “Tux Paint” to gain hand-eye coordination on the laptops. Teachers recently asked the students to draw a face on the program’s screen and the kids got pretty creative. Alongside drawing, students are also working on typing skills. It is so important for the students to gain fluency with a keyboard to be up-to-date with their modernizing nation.

C O O R D I N AT I O N

CON TAI N ER

A R R IVAL!

Exciting news on campus right now is the arrival of another container to our land! It was a huge feat to receive and unpack the many supplies it held after its long journey across the Atlantic and Suez Canal, and then south around the East side of Africa. This container carried the Hope Haven School’s newest McGraw-Hill curriculum. Ama Dei Students donated medical supplies, art supplies, and teaching manipulative’s. And there were many more tables and chairs to add to our classrooms, in addition to so many other items needed on the campus! © 2 0 1 5 H O P E H AV E N R WA N DA | H O P E H AV E N RWA N DA . O R G |

C A M P U S P H OTO U P DAT E

Nursery Building Holds 90 students

Primary Building Holds 120 students

Primary Classroom

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Dormitory

Houses 36 guests

Guest Cabins Current Construction: WILL WELCOME AN ADDITIONAL 120 STUDENTS

2nd Primary Building

SUSAN & LESLEE Hope Haven Founder, Susan Hollern recently visited the campus with a friend and supporter, Leslee Superchi. During the trip, Susan helped unpack the newest container, visit with teachers and students, and plan for upcoming programs and goals at Hope Haven! Leslee visited during the last week of Susan’s trip and invested in the Hope Haven community. Read Leslee’s story below. I first learned about Hope Haven Rwanda last summer while riding horses with Susan Hollern. I listened with great interest while Susan told me of the many challenges the school had overcome to be built. Susan was passionate about her vision for the school which was not just to educate children but rather to positively influence and empower a community through education, job training, agricultural training, and Christian ministry. I was moved by Susan’s great faith and vision and impressed by the results she had accomplished through her persistence, determination and unending energy. After our horseback ride I knew I would be a financial supporter of the school. [Upon arrival,] Susan picked me up at the airport and we proceeded to Hope Haven driving through the poor neighborhood of mud huts which surrounds Hope Haven. When we arrived at the school the extreme contrast of the surrounding poverty to the new modern buildings of Hope Haven and cheerful playground made me think this is a bright haven of hope for a better life. I spent the next 7 days getting to know the staff, teachers, children, parents, and construction workers as I photographed and videoed the day to day happenings at the school. While videoing interviews with parents, teachers, and other individuals associated with the school I heard testimonies of great faith in God, courage, suffering, overcoming unimaginable hardships and the desire to help others. I had so many wonderful experiences at the school , watching the children learning and dancing in the classroom, watching the most delicious beans being cooked each day for lunch, watching the beauty and strength of the women on the construction site as they carried heavy bricks and cement on their heads day after day. I felt like laughing and crying when I watch a classroom of children learn how to brush their teeth. I was laughing as they were learning to rinse and spit because the spit was often times landing on themselves or on their neighbor. I felt like crying as the children’s teeth were inspected and many of their teeth would need to be pulled because of significant decay. I was delighted to be included in a teacher birthday celebration which involved a birthday cake. The teachers were childlike in their excitement over the cake savoring each bite. After the cake party I told Liz, the school administrator, that the birthday boy or girl is granted a wish when blowing out the

Susan Hollern (left) & Leslee Superchi (right) Photo taken February 2015

candle and a second wish when making the first cut into the cake. Liz was very serious when she asked me if there were any rules about the wishes. I told Liz the only rule is you can’t tell anyone what the wish is or it won’t come true. Liz then said these wishes are good because it will give people something to strive for, normally people only think about what they will eat each day. I was astounded by Liz’s ability to take what I thought was a fun birthday tradition and turn it into a tool to help people. I was moved by a mother we interviewed who told us working on Hope Haven’s farm was the first time she had ever earned money and now she was able to buy food for her children. She showed great pride as she spoke. I feel great despair for the mothers who will not be able to send their children to school because there is limited space at Hope Haven. I was moved and overwhelmed with respect and admiration as I listened to individual stories of loss, survival, and reunion associated to the 1994 genocide. After attending a number of Hope Haven events and seeing many photographs and video’s I knew Hope Haven was helping many children and families in the community. After spending a week at Hope Haven I understand how desperately the children, parents, and community need the services provided by Hope Haven. I am grateful to God for allowing me to be a part of Hope Haven for a week. -Leslee Superchi

This Mother’s Day, Hope Haven will be adding a mural to the primary education building’s main hallway to honor moms across the world! This unique mural has been designed by Artist Pacifique Niyonsenga from NIYO Cultural Centre in Rwanda and Founder of Hope Haven, Susan Hollern. Pacifique Niyonsenga just started preparing for the mural in the Primary Education building’s main hallway. The mural design will depict women in unity across the globe. Mother’s names will be featured with the mural. Your mom can be a part of Hope Haven Rwanda.This Mother’s Day, please consider giving her the gift of helping another mother’s child get educated. Instead of giving her a card, flowers, candy, and taking her out to brunch, please donate in her honor or in her memory to the Hope Haven Educational Fund. Your donation will be used 100% toward educating children. The artwork will live on the Hope Haven walls permanently and be a constant reminder of our partnership with you in educating a Mother’s child. This is truly a way to honor the work that your mother did in raising and educating you. Mothers play a big role at Hope Haven. Work is scarce in Murindi and parents find it difficult to pay school fees for their child. At Hope Haven, parents are given job opportunities through agriculture and construction. Our parents are now able to work off their children’s school fees of between $5 - 10 per month and to also earn. This changes the dynamics in the home. The families are able to eat 3 times a day and are able to go to school, among other things that they just couldn’t afford previously. We need your help! Please pass this information around when you get details in your email box on April 10th. Share the campaign on your personal social media, email it to friends and family, and tell everyone you meet! With all of you, we can reach our goal of $50,000 to add to our education fund. This campaign will be hosted through Indiegogo, and launched on April 10. The money raised goes toward the Hope Haven Educational Fund to feed, educate, nurture, buy curriculum and hire teachers for the students. We are SO excited to be working with NIYO Cultural Centre for our Mother’s Day campaign, Mothers Helping Mothers. Make sure to look for our follow-up emails to see how YOUR mom’s name, her legacy, can be featured on this mural! Please go to our website to learn more about the campaign and to see the videos!

Photo featuring artist, Niyonsenga Pacifique beginning the hallway mural, March 2015 © 2 0 1 5 H O P E H AV E N R WA N DA | H O P E H AV E N RWA N DA . O R G |

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Hope Haven every time you shop, at no cost to you. Just hook up Amazon Smile to your Amazon account and you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as always, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to Hope Haven! Just visit smile.amazon.com and search for Hope Haven Charitable Trust, select it and continue shopping on your Amazon account! It’s too easy!

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