Restore the Rhythm of Life for 500 Rwandan Youth

Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village is a residential community in rural Rwanda. Our 144-acre campus includes a state of the art school, residential facilities, a health clinic, a farm, athletic fields, and an auditorium. ASYV opened in December 2008 to our first class of 118 young adults. We have since reached our full capacity of 500 students, with our first class having just recently graduated in December 2012. The graduation ceremony featured a commencement address by one of ASYV’s staunchest supporters, Rwandan president Paul Kagame.

Within AYSV’s supportive and structured community, the rhythm of life is being restored to each of our residents, with the ultimate goal of equipping young people who have lived through great trauma to become healthy, self-sufficient, and engaged in rebuilding their nation. Thanks to our donors, ASYV is able to meet the needs of its residents through the delivery of several integrated programs one of which is the Informal Education program (IE).  In IE we focus on Tikkun Halev – repairing the heart, and Tikkun Olam – repairing the world. 

The Tikkun Halev programs focus on creating a home, giving the children life skills and building self-confidence.

• Home Life – on arrival in the Village each child is assigned to a family of 16 children.  They live in the same home for their four years at ASYV and are supervised by a family mother who fosters close, familial relationships with each of her charges, creating an environment of security and acceptance.

•  Enrichment activities are offered daily, and include a range of choices in sports, art music and science.  In addition, students join clubs which focus on different areas of village life including religion, art, culture, journalism, agriculture, and the environment. Environmental issues are of particular concern in Rwanda where natural rain forests and wildlife tourism are the largest source of foreign exchange.  Our student run nature park focuses on identifying, understanding, and preserving native plant species, as well as appreciating the fragility of and protecting the environment.  Over 150 types of birds have been identified as making their home at ASYV.

Our Tikkun Olam program is one of the most transformative programs we have at ASYV.  Our students go into the neighboring communities and ensure basic human rights for the community members.  They build homes, help harvest crops, teach life skills, as well as English-language and computer skills to the local population and perhaps most importantly they have become a voice for the powerless, advocating for the rights of widows and orphans.  Our graduates emerge from Agahozo-Shalom as balanced young adults who are not only able to care for themselves and their families, but who are committed to making their community, their country, and their world, a better place.

On behalf of the 500 students, and 130 faculty and staff members (both in Rwanda and NYC), murakoze cyane (thank you very much) for supporting the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village!  Without you, the transformational and inspirational work being done each and every day would not be possible.    

Links:

• The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village blog