Author: Arlene Brown

The eldest of seven, I was born December 9, 1930 in Commodore Pennsylvania a small coal mining community. I am the mother of five, grandmother of 17 and Great Gram of 14. The majority of my life was spent as a housewife & mother, nurse, substitute teacher and finally as a group leader in a local electronics plant. I was a very ordinary person doing ordinary things. From the beginning I was in training for the life I would lead after I retired from the work force. A life dedicated to serving needy, abused and abandoned children in Rwanda, Africa. I grew up in a time when electricity, flush toilets, running water, unpaved roads, phones, television and computers were not common. I knew how to live without these things and so the move to Rwanda was not such a hardship as it would be for youngsters today. At age 65 I traveled to Zaire, Africa currently the Democratic Republic of Congo, and spent three months working in refugee camps around the town of Goma. Children are the victims in any conflict. Seeing the plight of the Rwandan children in Zaire I was determined to return some day to make a difference in their lives.   I returned to the luxury that is America. In 2006 after several trips to Rwanda I sold my home, car & all my possessions and made the move to Rwanda to spend the rest of my life. My heart for orphans, and the most vulnerable children made this move necessary.   Urukundo Foundation & Hope Made Real is the product of many who joined me in this mission to give hope to both the children and adults in Rwanda and to make their future brighter. Please contact me by email if you would like more information about the work we do.