Holiday time.

This month has been great as we have been having a lot of interactions with the children; playing games, teaching them life skills and a bit of academic revision. In the first pic below, Samuel Ihorihoze, the youngest in the group, makes a contribution in a discussion about cultural traditions and local proverbs and riddles. We were amazed how much they knew in terms of riddles and wise sayings used in this part of the country.
When saying riddles, the challenger says "saku saku", the rest reply "Soma" (meaning literally, READ). Then he gives the riddle and one person gives the meaning.

One riddle that was brought up says in the local dialect "Mfite abaserikare batatu omwe nabura ndarurara" (I have 3 soldiers; when one is absent, i go without food). The answer was given promptly by one of them: It was "Amahega" (cooking stones). In Africa, the traditional stove or cooker was composed of 3 stones placed in a triangular shape close to each other. The food in a cooking pot is placed on top of the 3 stones (amahega), and firewood is placed under the pot (between the 3 stones) and lit with fire. More firewood is added to keep the fire burning until the food is ready.
The idea behind the riddle is that if one of those stones(soldiers) is removed, the family will not cook that day hence going hungry.
In African culture, the use of riddles, stories and wise sayings is a common tool used in a home setting to teach important values and life lessons to children. Here we are....

More Xmass Action

Some more fun...

XMASS 2014.

Merry Xmass and happy new year to all of you!

This Xmass was one of a kind here at FALCCO. Members of Transformation Revival Centre, a local church here, teamed up with us to organise an Xmass service and party for the children. Many thanks to the members for their involvement and contributions.

The children practiced the whole week for their musical presentations. We had some parents and other guests come over for the Xmass morning event.
Ululations and "Jingle Bells" filled the air as the knife touched the edge of the cake. The cake was cut by Justine Cyimpaye (representing the other children) assisted by a FALCCO volunteer, the director, a parent and one other guest.

Some children got a bit scared by the "fire" around the cake but realized later it was actually harmless!
We greatly appreciate our sponsors and friends who have made this year 2014 a memorable one for the children. We look forward to an even greater year 2015.

Tis holiday time again for our children. This is the end of academic year holiday and they will be having more time to help out at home and relax.
Xmas is on and preparations are underway for a children's xmas party on 25th Dec. Song practices are taking place and everyone is getting more and more expectant for the long awaited xmas cake!
Pics will be up as soon as our network is stable.

Hello from all of us here at FALCCO!
It was really great last month when we hosted our friends Thor, Sara, Emma, Sophia and Victor from Sweden. The children enjoyed every bit of the time they had with you. Thanks for giving them and all of us a memorable experience!

More IGPs. Pictured is the mother of Justine Cyimpaye. The family has been supported by FALCCO to start a simple foodstuff retail business. She sits here beside the beans she sells at a small roadside market near their home. This family has no land to cultivate and that makes them much more vulnerable.

However, we believe that with the determination and resilience that this lady has, her business will grow and she will be able to improve the conditions of her family. She has been a single mother to her 3 children for about 8 years.
Empowering households to start their own income generating projects is key to our vision. We believe that anyone can work their way out of poverty if they have the right mindset and are given the right opportunities.

A snapshot of a Kisoro village showing the home (in the middle of the pic) where Richard Manirinde, one of our children, stays with his mother and siblings. It shows the sprawling gardens typical of most villages in Kisoro. The gardens presently contain maize and Irish potatoes. The potatoes are due for harvest but the maize will be harvested in January 2015. Near Richards home is the garden that his mother cultivates. This typifies how strongly the communities rely on agriculture for their livelihood. In the far background are the Virunga ranges which house Mgahinga forest National park. The park is home to the world-famous mountain gorillas. Tourists come from all over the world to see the gorillas.The ranges stretch into Rwanda and D.R Congo on the other side of the mountains.