Children need the love and support of a family to thrive. When a family isn't stable, due to societal trauma or personal tragedy, a youth village can fill the gap. Through healing, education, and love, the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) empowers orphaned and vulnerable Rwandan youth to build lives of dignity and contribute to a better world.
Rwanda suffered a devastating genocide in 1994, leading to many social hardships. One of the primary issues still facing the country is a high number of orphaned children and vulnerable youth. Many live in poverty, sheltered by guardians who cannot afford a regular supply of food or clean water, let alone school fees and medical expenses. Although Rwanda has made strides in providing its youth with access to education, about 70% of Rwandans are still unable to enroll in secondary school.
Modeled after Yemin Orde, an Israeli youth village established in 1953 to care for orphans of the Holocaust, Agahozo-Shalom is a place where "tears are dried," signified by the Kinyarwanda word "agahozo," and where vulnerable youth can "live in peace," from the Hebrew word "shalom." Agahozo-Shalom combines four elements to encourage our students' growth: the loving care of a family, a structured education, enriching extracurricular programs, and front-line medical and psycho-social support.
The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village represents hope for Rwanda's most disadvantaged. The Village offers a holistic approach to healing the trauma of vulnerable children, providing them with a warm and loving environment. An environment in which they live, learn, heal, and dream. The result is a whole and healthy individual who, with the help of their new family, believes in themselves and learns to contribute to their community and the world.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
